The Endless War
by ZuttoAragi
Summary: War. Always going. Every evolving. Now watch what happens when one made for it begins his tale.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

 **Hello all! Yes, I know, another new story. This one, The Endless War, features Alister Manase as the lead character yet again. This time it is focused primarily on more of the giant robot anime like Gundam and Super Robot Wars. As usual it is a harem story with lemons likely to come some time in the near future. Let me know what you think of the story with a review, and I would also like to extend my thanks to Bakuto Masaki for his ever-present help in such stories.**

* * *

A young man with short, messy brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a fair skin tone wearing a plain white t-shirt, blue jeans, a black wristwatch, and dark grey sneakers sighed as he walked down the street of a small town. "Damn… why is it always so hard to find work…? None of this will get me any money. And I'm so hungry…" he moaned as his stomach growled.

"Hey!" a voice shouted desperately. "Let go!"

The man's attention was drawn to the side where he saw a beautiful woman with long, waist-length, dark blue hair tied back in a long ponytail, her bangs framing her face and falling just above her very generous bosom, wearing dark pink lipstick, a tight, yellow sweater with vertical stripes and very form-fitting jeans, however, he then noticed a masked man pulling on her purse.

"I said hands off!" she urged angrily.

"Just hand it over, lady!" the man growled before pulling a knife from his pocket.

"Hey!" the brunette shouted before rushing over, swiping a chop at the assailant's hand, knocking the blade from his grip, before pulling his arms behind him in an arm lock and slamming him against the wall. "Not so tough now, are we?"

The assailing man paled in fear.

"Now, I'll give you two choices. Get the hell out of my sight or I break your arms and leave your corpse for the cops to get."

"Okay, okay! I'll leave!" the man shrieked as he paled further before sprinting away.

The woman sighed in relief. "Thank you for that, though I assure you I had him on the ropes."

"Right…" the brunette answered, unconvinced. "By the way, I'm Alister Manase."

The woman nodded before bowing slightly. "Rinko Iori."

Alister was interrupted from speaking another word as his stomach growled loudly.

"O – Oh my," Rinko remarked with a surprised blush.

"Sorry 'bout that, I haven't had much to eat today," Alister apologized as Rinko smiled confidently.

"Then please, let me repay you with a meal."

"… Thanks."

* * *

Shortly later, Alister and Rinko stood in front of a small building with a sign atop the front.

"Iori Hobby Shop… what's that?"

Rinko smirked and replied, "Exactly what it says. A shop that sells models of Mobile Suits and other such things. Now, come on in."

As they walked in, a young boy with short blue hair bowed. "Welcome to – Mom!" he stopped and exclaimed excitedly as he saw her before seeing Alister.

Rinko smiled and waved. "I'm home, Sei."

The boy, Sei, looked at Alister in thought. "Who's this?"

Alister waved lazily. "Name's Alister Manase."

"Ah, nice to meet you, I'm Sei Iori."

"Right. So…" Alister noted before seeing a small plastic model of a blue, humanoid robot with a whip coming from its forearm. "What's with these MS models, like this Gouf?"

Sei's eyes lit up with excitement. "They're models based on the mecha used by the various governments and from the series Armored Core!"

Alister blinked curiously as he looked at the excited boy. "Armored… Core?"

"Yep!" he exclaimed before picking up a similarly sized model of a white robot with multiple weapons on its back. "A series of video games where you build and battle mecha against other players! Like this Hogire!"

"… I… see…?"

Rinko giggled lightly in amusement before patting Alister's shoulder. "Please forgive him, he gets rather excited about these things."

Sei pouted in rejection. "Mmoomm…! They're not _things_!"

"Right, right. Now, Alister here will be joining us for dinner."

Sei raised his eyebrows in thought as he looked at Alister. "Really?"

"Yep!"

Alister looked around the simple building curiously before walking through the door behind the counter to their living area. "This is a pretty nice little house."

"Why thank you. My… ex originally bought it," she explained with a small wince. "Anyway, how does vegetable stir-fry sound?"

"Mmoomm…!" Sei pouted. "Again?"

Rinko smirked playfully. "Aren't you the one who said my stir-fry is the best?"

Alister scratched his head in thought. "I usually eat meat but I guess I could try this… vegetable stir-fry."

"Then stir-fry it is!" Rinko cheered with a smile.

* * *

Some time later, Alister, Rinko, and Sei sat around a plain wooden table, the pot of stir-fry sat in the center.

Alister sniffed the steam rising from the meal. "Smells good. Wonder how it tastes." Sating his curiosity, Alister took a spoonful before blinking in surprise. "It's good."

Rinko smiled with a small blush. "Why thank you."

"You're welcome, beautiful."

Sei stared at Alister incredulously.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Nothing," Sei huffed before beginning to eat.

"Okay…?"

"So, do you have a place to stay, Alister?" Rinko asked.

Alister shook his head in denial. "No, I don't. I was planning on getting a hotel room."

"I don't think you'll have much luck. Due to the tournament coming up almost all of the hotels are completely booked."

"Tournament?"

"Yep!" Sei cheered. "The Burning PT Regional Tournament!"

"And that is…?"

Sei gaped slightly. "You don't know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I did."

"People build and customize MS models and then put them in a machine that controls their movement."

"I see…"

"The world championship's grand prize is the World Champ trophy! Oh, and I think like ten million yen."

"I'm in," Alister immediately asserted.

"H – Huh?"

"I want in this tournament."

Sei looked at him surprised and confused. "Have you ever played before?"

"Can't be that hard."

Sei frowned before a new, shrill voice shrieked, "Iori!" causing him to stiffen in fear.

Rinko tilted her head in confusion. "A customer at this hour? I'm certain I put up the closed sign."

"It might not be," Alister remarked as he stood.

Making their way to the front of the store, the three saw a boy Sei's age with short brown hair in a bowl cut.

"Sazaki…" Sei grumbled.

Sazaki smirked and pointed at Sei. "Today's the day, Iori! You're going to give me that model for the Burning PT!"

Sei stiffened and then gulped. "… N – No… I won't give it to you."

"And why not!?" the boy snarled.

Sei lurched back slightly. "B – Because…" he stammered looking for an excuse before his eyes landed on Alister. "B – Because I already have a pilot for it."

"Huh!?" Sazaki growled before looking at Alister. "… Him!? He doesn't even look like he knows the first thing about piloting a PT!"

Alister twitched an eyebrow at the brat. "Has anyone ever told you not to miss a good chance to shut up?"

Sazaki gaped in disbelief. "Why you…! Alright, prove it! Face me!"

"If you want a spanking that badly, brat."

* * *

Rinko led the group to a room in the back of the shop, with a set of four, tall, hexagonal platforms grouped together.

"This is the Burning Personal Trooper, or BPT, system," Rinko explained.

Sazaki smirked before holding up a model of a grey and purple humanoid robot with a red shield and a single pink eye. "My perfect Gyan!"

Sei walked up to Alister and handed him a red and white model of a humanoid robot with three pillars on each forearm. "Here, you can use this. I call it the Gespenst Mk-II Type-SA."

Alister grinned excitedly. "Nice custom unit."

Sazaki huffed in derision. "Heh. But with an amateur like you behind it, it won't get through much."

"You really need to stop talking," Alister threatened as he and Sazaki stood on opposite ends of the machine.

"Set your PT Base," a computerized voice ordered before Alister and Sazaki set their models on small platforms.

Suddenly, a holographic array formed around Alister, with a control panel and two glowing orbs in front of him. Putting his hands on the spheres, Alister looked around the virtual cockpit in thought. "Hm… this is really similar to the real thing."

"Match, start."

At that moment, inside of a virtually constructed desert wasteland, the Gyan and Gespenst launched from rails, surging through the air into the vast emptiness.

"Hm… this should be quick," Alister commented as he looked through the virtual cockpit. "Hm… six beam sabers, a single rifle, missile pods, and the chest cannon." He smirked as he equipped the rifle before looking ahead.

"Here it comes!" Sazaki chortled before shooting a barrage of rockets from his shield.

"Fool," Alister chided before shooting the rocket in the center of the group, causing a chain of explosions that destroyed the rest. He then immediately aimed his rifle down and fired a series of shots.

"Crap!" Sazaki growled, having dove below Alister, before he dashed back, narrowly avoiding Alister's shots.

Alister quickly realigned his aim and fired, hitting Gyan's shoulder joint, knocking it off balance, before charging forward, the three beam saber handles on the left forearm beginning to vibrate and glow.

Sazaki paled and attempted to raise his shield to defend himself, but the arm went limp as the shoulder sparked. "H – Huh!?"

"Too bad, kid," Alister remarked coldly before jamming the glowing pillars into the Gyan's torso. "But you lose. Jet Magnum!" A sudden blast of energy discharged from the pillars into the Gyan before Alister dodged away as it exploded violently.

"Wh – Whoa…" Sei gasped as he watched the battle alongside Rinko.

Sazaki stumbled back, trembling in disbelief. "Wh – What… what the hell just happened…?"

"You bored me," Alister retorted as he began to walk away.

Sazaki picked up the remnants of his Gyan and growled angrily. "Y – You cheated! Yeah, that's it! You cheated!"

"No, you just suck. You didn't stand a chance against me from the beginning. So own up to your lack of skill and go."

"Ggrr… I'll be back!" Sazaki hissed before stomping out of the building.

Sei's eyes lit up with excitement. "That was so cool! How'd you do that!?"

"Do what?" Alister asked with mild confusion.

"You were so skilled and perfect with that PT!"

Alister raised an eyebrow in thought before pulling his wallet from his pocket. "That's probably because I'm an actual Federation pilot."

"Wh – Whoa…" Sei gasped. "So… the pilot of my PT is… an actual MS pilot!?"

Rinko smiled warmly as Sei cheered excitedly.

* * *

The next morning, Sei waved happily before running out the door.

Alister, sitting at the dining room table, raised an eyebrow curiously. "School?"

"Naturally," Rinko answered with a smile as she cleaned some of the plates.

"Huh…" he hummed with a frown.

"Something wrong?"

"Huh? No, it's nothing."

Rinko frowned slightly in concern. "Ah. Well, I can't thank you enough."

"For what, beautiful?" Alister asked in surprise.

"Sei hasn't been so excited and happy like that in over a year."

"Ah…"

"Not since I split up with his father." Rinko then glanced to the side at a small box wrapped in cloth. "Oh dear, Sei forgot his lunch."

Alister looked over at the box and then picked it up. "I'll get it to him."

"Um, it won't be that –" Rinko began to clarify as Alister left. "And he's gone…"

* * *

Alister looked around curiously as he jumped from the roof of one building to another. "Hm… so where is it…? … Damn, should have asked for directions." As he leapt, however, he noticed a large, multi-story building sticking out atop the others. "Hm… maybe?" He quickly leapt towards the building and then noticed the number of students walking about the place. "Guess this is the place."

The various students watched with confusion as he nonchalantly walked in through the gate and looked around.

Alister frowned as he looked around. "Hm… I should have asked her which room he's in."

"Hey!" a new, gravelly voice growled loudly.

Alister ignored the voice, continuing to look around before a fist grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't ignore me!" a young man with thick sideburns growled.

Alister instantly reacted, ducking down before sweeping the man's legs out from under him.

"Gah!" the man growled as the students gasped in shock.

"H – He just took out Gonda…" another of the students gasped in awe.

Alister blinked curiously. "Gonda?" he muttered before looking at the man on the floor. "You mean the gorilla? Huh. Weird name to give a gorilla."

Gonda stood with a growl. "I'm not a gorilla dammit! I'm Monta Gonda! Vice president of the student council and model-building club! Outsiders aren't allowed in the school without permission, so identify yourself and your reason for coming here!"

* * *

In one of the rooms above the main area, several students gathered at the windows to watch the conflict going on below.

One of the students gasped, "Holy cow! There's a guy picking a fight with Gonda out there!"

Sei, sitting nearby, blinked curiously. "Seriously? Who'd be crazy enough to do that?" Sei then approached the window and watched Alister knock Gonda onto his back. He paled before running out of the room.

"I – Iori!" a young girl with short, chin-length, dark brown hair, her bangs swept to the sides above her light brown eyes, wearing red half-frame glasses, a blue blazer, dark blue skirt, and brown shoes, gasped before following after him.

* * *

"Gorilla, move," Alister snapped, causing Gonda to snarl angrily.

"Not until you answer my questions, or I'll have you thrown out!" he bellowed.

"I guess I'll move you myself then," Alister threatened before moving towards Gonda when the two were distracted by a desperate shout.

"Wwaaiitt!" Sei hollered as he ran towards the conflict.

"Huh? Oh there you are."

Sei stopped just ahead of Alister, huffing with exhaustion. "Wh – What… what the heck are you doing!?"

Alister held up the wrapped lunchbox. "Rinko said you forgot this."

Sei stiffened before turning red. "… O – Oh… th – thanks…"

Gonda huffed in annoyance. "So, are you –?" he began to ask, stopping when he noticed a pouch hanging off Sei's belt. "Iori!"

"Huh?"

"What is that?" Gonda demanded, pointing at the pouch.

"U – Uh, nothing…"

His eyes narrowed before he took the pouch forcefully and saw the Gespenst model inside. "I believe the rules are clear that only members of the Model-Building Club are allowed to bring PT models to school."

Alister frowned suspiciously.

Sei stiffened. "B - But, you only allow Second and Third Year students into the club!"

"No excuses!" Gonda snarled.

"Doesn't sound like an excuse, gorilla," Alister grumbled.

"I thought your business was done here? Leave."

"Give Sei back his model and I will."

"He's not allowed to have it in school. When the day's out he can have it back."

"How 'bout no? Because I don't trust you not to mess with it, gorilla."

"Why you…!"

"Now, if you won't give it to Sei, give it to me. Otherwise I'll take it and your hand. Understood, gorilla?"

"My name is _Monta Gonda_!"

"Are you going to give it to me or not?"

"No, now leave."

"Don't say I didn't give you a choice," Alister threatened before raising his fists.

"D – Don't!" Sei shrieked as he stepped in between them.

Gonda smirked and retorted, "Want to fight, do you? So be it, though I'd rather not embarrass you with a fist fight."

The others all gaped at Gonda. ' _You embarrass him?_ ' they thought in unified disbelief.

"Then what do you propose, ape face?" Alister retorted.

Gonda growled as a vein popped on his head before he pulled out a round, yellow model. "Burning PT match against my Sumo!"

"Fine," Alister huffed before grabbing the Gespenst from him. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

The group made their way to the school's auditorium where Alister saw an arena similar to the one in Rinko's shop but many times larger. "That's a big arena."

The brown-haired girl explained, "The student council president, Tatsuya Yuuki, his father is a big contributor to the school and donated the arena."

Alister looked at the girl. "Oh? And who are you?"

The girl blinked before bowing. "China Kousaka."

"You make me sound like some spoiled rich kid," a voice remarked.

Alister glanced to the side and saw a young man with chin-length, wavy brown hair and green eyes, he then flinched when the numerous girls in the room, except China, shrieked excitedly.

"Yuuki-Senpai!" they all shrieked.

Alister sighed a bead of sweat fell down his cheek in exasperation. ' _Guess these are those… fangirls Excellen warned me of._ '

China sighed in annoyance. "Geez, why do they always go crazy when he shows up?"

Tatsuya turned his attention to Alister and asked, "So you'll be fighting Gonda, then?"

Alister shrugged dismissively. "The gorilla won't listen so I'm going to have to tear his tin can apart here."

Tatsuya nodded in understanding. "Ah. Well, good luck, Manase."

Alister waved as he walked away. "Right." ' _Wait, did I tell him my name?_ '

Before he could speak his question aloud, the system's computer announced, "Set your PT Base."

Alister put the model down on a small pedestal in front of him, as did Gonda.

The computer then announced, "Initiating Plavsky Particle dispersion," before holographic displays formed around the two and the arena.

Alister took a breath and put his hands on the glowing orbs in front of him. "Now then… let's get started."

"Battle start."

Both models launched into the air, launching over a replication of a deserted city.

Alister grinned as he readied the Gespenst. "Time to hunt." He immediately rushed forward before leaping into the air, opening the missile pods on the mech's back, and spun around, sending a barrage of rockets in all directions.

China gasped in disbelief as she watched the battle. "Is he crazy? Won't he get spotted up there?"

"I don't know…" Sei muttered in confusion.

"Fool!" Gonda howled as he fired beams up at Alister.

Alister smirked and leapt down, firing at the ground, sending a cloud of smoke into the air.

"Huh?" Gonda muttered in confusion.

Alister rushed from the smoke and emerged behind Gonda and thrust a beam saber at the man's golden mech.

Gonda growled and dashed to the side, his Sumo gaining a large gash on one side but the blade narrowly missing the cockpit. "Why you…!"

Alister huffed and then swung his blade with force, slicing Gonda's machine in half. "Too easy." However, Alister's mech was suddenly hit from behind by an explosion. "Huh?" he mumbled before turning to see a dark red machine with multiple rocket pods on its body. "A red Zaku?"

A familiar voice announced, "This is my Zaku Amazing," before more rockets fired.

"Yuuki?" Alister hummed before raising his rifle and firing, Tatsuya easily dashing to the side, firing his Zaku's machine gun. Alister jumped to the side, dodging the shots. ' _Interesting. This one has some actual skill._ '

Tatsuya rolled to the side as Alister fired several more shots before kicking off a building and charging at Alister.

Alister grinned excitedly and drew a beam saber with his other arm and charged when Tatsuya circled around him. Alister kicked back at him, however Tatsuya caught his foot and slammed his machine against a building. Alister grinned widely. "You're good. Definitely much better than the gorilla." He grabbed the Zaku Amazing by the head and dashed up into the air.

"You're pretty good to, Manase," Tatsuya retorted before kicking away from Alister and fired a rocket, destroying most of the Gespenst's right arm.

Alister's grin widened. "True. I guess it's time I took you seriously." He then suddenly grabbed his dropped rifle out of midair and fired multiple rockets at Tatsuya as he spun around, backhanding the Zaku Amazing with his Jet Magnum. Alister ducked to the side as Tatsuya punched at him before throwing his rifle at Tatsuya.

"Tch!" Tatsuya hissed as he knocked the rifle aside, only to see Alister eject one of his beam sabers, grab it out of midair, and then deftly slice the Zaku Amazing in half.

The crowd gathered in the room stood in awed silence as Alister merely laughed with excitement. "Now _that_ was fun!"

Tatsuya sighed before smirking as the holographic displays vanished. "Yes, it certainly was."

Gonda gaped in disbelief. "H – H – He beat… president Yuuki…?"

Tatsuya's fangirls in the room had nothing to say.

"Wh – Whoa…" Sei muttered in shock.

"That was awesome…" a young man with short, spiked brown hair and brown eyes, wearing the same uniform as Tatsuya, gaped.

Next to him, a girl with short, curled blue hair, her parted fringe stopping just above her azure eyes, wearing a similar uniform to China, the blouse hugging tighter against her moderate bust, nodded slowly in agreement. "Y – Yeah…"

Alister smirked as he walked up to Tetsuya and shook his hand. "Thanks for giving me an interesting fight after the letdown of one the gorilla was."

Tatsuya nodded in understanding, chuckling lightly at Gonda's angry growls. "Same to you. Will you be in the Burning PT tournament?"

"Yes. Should be an entertaining way to gain a lot of money."

"Then I hope to face you at your best there," Tatsuya replied before walking away.

Alister sighed and then rubbed his throat in discomfort. "… I'm thirsty."

"I have some drinks you can try," the blue-haired girl greeted.

Alister turned to the girl in thought before smirking. "And who might you be, cutie?"

"Kusuha Mizuha," she answered with a smile before handing him a fluorescent green drink.

"W – Wait!" the brown-haired teen shouted.

Kusuha blinked curiously. "Ryusei?"

Alister gulped the drink down swiftly. "Ahh… refreshing. Thanks for the drink, Kusuha."

Kusuha nodded with a pleased smile as Ryusei gaped in shock.

"He's… still alive…?" Ryusei muttered.

"Y – Yeah…" Sei added in shock.

"Why are you guys acting so weird about this?" Alister challenged.

Kusuha pouted in frustration and added, "Yeah, that's rude."

The others simply stared in silence.

* * *

"That was amazing!" Sei cheered as he sat at the table with Rinko and Alister.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Rinko asked with intrigue.

"Alister got into a PT match with Tatsuya Yuuki, the best PT player in the school, and it was incredible!"

Alister shrugged dismissively. "It was fun but I wouldn't call it incredible."

"How can you say that!? No one's ever beaten Yuuki-Senpai before!"

"And I should know this… how?"

"Um… well…"

Rinko smiled as she put plates in front of the duo. "Now, now, let's focus on dinner."

"Fine by me," Alister quipped before Rinko turned to him with an intrigued smile.

"So you said you're a pilot?"

"I am. Graduated from the academy little over a year ago."

"If that's the case, why are you so desperate for money?"

Alister stiffened and then chuckled weakly. "I kind of… crashed a prototype MS. They want me to pay for part of the repair costs and put me on temporary unpaid leave."

"Oh my. That sounds quite expensive."

"You have no idea. The winnings from the tournament should help cover the cost for the damaged parts of the Wildraubtier."

Rinko tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Buildraptor?"

"No. Wildraubtier. It's a prototype variable Mobile Suit."

"Oh."

"Variable!?" Sei exclaimed in shock.

Rinko looked at her son in thought. "Is that important?"

"Of course it is!"

Rinko merely chuckled lightly. "Then I'll just let you two hash it out," she remarked as she watched the two talk.

* * *

Later, after dinner, Rinko finished cleaning the dishes when she noticed Alister asleep on her sofa. She hummed in thought for a moment before grabbing a comforter and then noticed him twitch slightly. "Is he having a dream? Or maybe a nightmare…" Slightly worried she reached out to rock his shoulder when he sat up suddenly, breathing heavily. "Are you alright?"

"Y – Yeah…" he stammered weakly. "Just… a weird dream…"

Rinko smiled softly and patted his back gently.

"Huh?"

Rinko chuckled lightly. "Nothing. Whenever Sei has a bad dream I pat him on the back and it seems to calm him down."

"I – I see…"

Rinko blinked curiously as she looked at him before leaning closer. "Hm? Are you sure you're alright? Your face is turning red."

"Y – Yes. It's just… your breasts are really close…"

Rinko looked at him in thought before standing straight with a smirk. "Are you that bothered by these old things?"

"They are big and most likely beautiful, Rinko."

"Oh? I had no idea you went for older women."

"You don't look that old. Maybe in your thirties."

"You're just full of flattery," she teased before leaning forward slightly. "I wonder what else you're –"

Before she could finish her sentence, Sei, sleepy and rubbing his eyes, mumbled, "Mom, I'm thir –" stopping when he saw Rinko and Alister. "What are you doing…?"

Rinko quickly and immediately stood away from Alister, flustered. "N – Nothing!"

"Oh… okay. I'm thirsty…"

"R – Right! I'll get some drinks!"

"I – I'll go make some breakfast!" Alister stammered, causing Sei to look at him curiously.

"It's still nighttime…" Sei mumbled groggily.

"O – Oh…"

* * *

Alister sighed as he flopped onto his temporary bed. "That was close… Way too close…" He gulped in thought as he thought back to Rinko leaning over him. "But still, she's… so hot…" He then shook his head fervently. "No! You have a girlfriend! Even though she came up with that plan… and even got Kaguya in on it too… No! I won't!"

* * *

The next day, Alister sighed as he looked around the shop in boredom before walking up to Rinko, stiffening slightly as the night's events entered his mind. "H – Hey, Rinko… do you need help with the shop?"

"Hm?" Rinko hummed as she turned to him before smiling. "Certainly!"

"Cool. What do you need?"

"Can you man the register for a while? I need to get some supplies."

"Sure, I can do that."

"Thanks!" she chirped with a smile.

Alister stiffened with a blush. ' _Beautiful…_ '

* * *

Some time later, Alister sighed as he stood at the register. "Damn… I'm more bored than I expected…" He then looked around at the various models in the shop. "There sure are a lot of these things, and they're certainly realistic." His attention was redirected as the door opened and he saw a tall, hefty, older man. "Can I help you, sir?"

The man looked around in thought. "My name is Ral, I'm wondering, is Rinko Iori here?"

"No, she just left."

Ral slumped in disappointment. "Damn…"

"Something wrong?"

The man stiffened before hiding his hands behind his back. "N – No, nothing."

Alister frowned suspiciously. ' _I don't like this guy. At all…_ ' "Why don't you show me what you've got behind your back there?"

Ral stiffened and began to sweat. "W – Well, th – that's, um…"

"Oh, Mr. Ral?" Rinko remarked as she entered the shop.

Ral turned swiftly with a smile. "Ah, Rinko!"

Rinko glanced down and noticed a small red box in his hand. "Hm? What's in that box?"

"Well, you see –" he began before Alister swiped it. "H – Hey!"

Alister opened the box and flattened his brow before staring at Ral. "Perverted old man."

Ral stiffened.

"Huh?" Rinko hummed in thought before Alister pulled a lacy black bra from the box. "O – Oh my!" she gasped.

Ral gaped in horror.

"M – Mr. Ral…?"

Ral stiffened before bolting out the door.

Alister huffed as he tossed the box aside. "What a creep. You okay, Rinko?"

Rinko turned to him with a shaky smile. "Y - Yes, I'm fine. I've known for quite a while about Mr. Ral's feelings, though I haven't found a good way to say no since he's our best customer."

"Ah… you need to get more customers then."

"Maybe. But this is a small shop is located in a small alley in a small city, plus we're only one of half a dozen other model shops here."

"Then it's a good thing I'm using Sei's Gespenst."

"Huh?" she mumbled, turning to him curiously.

"Tell me… what do you think would happen if a MS model made by this shop won the tournament?"

"We'd get… all kinds of publicity!"

"Exactly. Meaning all kinds of customers wanting to buy your models."

Rinko shrieked with excitement before hugging him tightly. "You're a genius!"

Alister stiffened and turned red before slowly returning the hug. "Th – Thanks…"

Rinko blinked in surprise after a moment.

"S – Something wrong?"

"You're poking me," she noted in thought before he immediately and suddenly stepped away from her.

"S – Sorry…" he mumbled.

Rinko tilted her head curiously.

* * *

Later in the day, Alister sighed as he leaned back in a chair. "Geez… just sitting around all day like this isn't my style… Maybe I should take a run through the city to get an idea of the layout."

* * *

As Alister made his way around the small city, he started noticing strange sounds nearby. "The heck?" Looking around, he then heard the sounds more clearly from a door at the basement of a bar. Going up to a small door, he looked inside and saw several men in fake military uniforms playing Burning PT. "Well… that's weird."

"Well this is rare," a new voice remarked.

Alister turned and saw a tall, tanned man with chin-length brown hair behind him. "What is?"

"A new face around here," the man remarked.

"Ah. Well I just got to the city a few days ago."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ricardo Fellini."

Alister nodded and shook the man's hand. "Alister Manase."

"So what brings you here senor?"

"Was just walking around when I heard some noises and decided to check it out. Then I saw this."

"Ah. They're… fanatics. They've been obsessed with building and customizing these models since before it became the 'in' thing to do. Obsessed with the games they're based on too."

"Ah…"

"Want to have a go against them?"

"Sure."

Ricardo nodded and opened the door. "Yo!" he cheered in.

Ral, amongst the group, turned in surprise. "Ah, Felli – eek!" he shrieked suddenly at seeing Alister, the other men looking at him in disbelief.

Alister twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. "Old man."

"O – Oh dear…"

"I'm only here to use the PTs. I'll deal with you later."

"R – Right…"

One of the men looked at Ral curiously. "Lieutenant, what's this about?"

"Nothing!" he answered suddenly.

"Okay…?"

Alister smirked and cracked his knuckles before looking around. "So who here wants to be my punching bag?"

The others all stared in disbelief at his bravado.

* * *

Some time later, Alister, using a Gespenst Type-S model, finished off the last of the men's models and sighed in annoyance. "Can none of you fight? I was hoping for at least a bit of entertainment."

Ricardo smirked confidently and stepped up to him, holding up a model of a tall, sleek, blue-grey model. "Want to try your hand against me and my White Glint?"

Alister raised an eyebrow in thought and then shrugged. "Might as well."

The duo readied their machines and began the match readily.

Alister smirked as he watched Ricardo's White Glint dive into the buildings, hiding amongst them. "Now to begin the hunt."

Ricardo suddenly dashed past an alley, firing a flurry of shots from his rifle, Alister jumping to the side, avoiding the shots before launching a barrage of rockets from the Gespenst's backpack, causing Ricardo to suddenly speed up, blasting away faster than the missiles.

Alister smirked in amusement. "A speedster, eh? I know how to deal with your type."

Ricardo grinned derisively. "You don't even know my type, kid."

Alister twitched an eyebrow angrily. "You focus on high-speed hit-and-run tactics, using a lightly armored unit to avoid enemy shots due to your unit's weak armor and more than likely use that beam saber to get in close."

Ricardo flinched back, his voice catching in his throat. "Guh!?"

Alister grinned confidently. "Now… to commence my attack."

"W – Won't be that easy!" Ricardo stammered, sweaty, before suddenly dashing to the side before Alister threw several grenades to exploded in clouds of smoke. Ricardo smirked as the White Glint's eyes lit up, allowing him to see through the smoke, just in time to see Alister waiting for him outside the smoke. "Crap!"

* * *

Outside the arena, Ral and the others watched in disbelief.

"How's he doing so well with just a generic model like that…?" one of the men stammered.

"I – I have no idea!" another exclaimed before gulping.

* * *

Alister swung his Jet Magnum at Ricardo, whom jumped back and fired a shot from his shoulder cannon, causing Alister to duck to the side before smirking. "You know what the biggest weakness is with high speed machines?"

"Huh?" Ricardo mumbled.

"They can't brake worth a damn."

Ricardo turned in realization, only for his White Glint to slam into a wall.

"It's over!" Alister bellowed before firing all of his rockets, his rifle, and the cannon on his machine's abdomen at once, blasting the White Glint to pieces.

Ricardo gaped in awe as the virtual environment faded away, leaving the fragments of his model. "H – H – How…?"

"Hi-res scanners aren't made to see buildings in smoke."

Ricardo gaped in disbelief. "How did you even know I was using them!?"

"Hi-res scanners emit a very noticeable pulse throughout the area, causing a minor distortion in everything they pass over."

Ricardo stiffened and twitched an eyebrow angrily. "Okay, spill it! Who… what are you?!"

"Second Lieutenant Alister Manase of the Federation's Mobile Suit corps."

The others all gaped in disbelief.

"He's a _real_ pilot!?" one man exclaimed.

"Holy cow…" Ral mumbled in disbelief.

"Guess that explains a lot…" Ricardo grumbled.

* * *

Alister stretched his neck as he walked into the house and looked around curiously. "Hey, where's Sei?"

Rinko, cleaning several dishes, answered, "He's been in his room ever since he got home working on that model."

"Ah. Well it does need some work if we are going to sweep the tournament."

"Oh. Well where have you been all this time?"

"Running."

"Ah. Oh, did you bring a change of clothes with you?"

"… Why?"

"W – Well, you… probably need to change clothes occasionally…"

"Ah…"

"F – Forget I asked…"

"Okay…"

* * *

Alister slept soundly the next morning when Sei suddenly barged into the room. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Alister quickly sat up, pulling a pistol from his nightstand. "What!? What's going on!?"

Sei blinked in bewilderment. "… H – Huh…? It's just… today's the day for the championships to start…"

"Oh," he mumbled before putting the pistol away. "Right then. We should get going."

"R – Right…"

"Something wrong?"

Sei gulped in confusion. "Wh – What's with the gun?"

"Standard issue sidearm to MS pilots."

"O – Oh… a – anyway, it's done."

"Good. Let's go kid."

* * *

Alister blinked as he and Sei approached a large building with several large screens above its wide entrances showing footage of Burning PT battles.

"Guess this is the place," Alister remarked.

"Yep!" Sei chirped happily.

* * *

After heading inside the building, Alister looked around in thought. "Huh… it looks even bigger on the inside."

Sei looked at several doors before seeing a hallway marked "Pilots" nearby. "I think the competitors gather down this hall."

"Ah. Let's get going then."

* * *

Inside a large room, Sei gulped as he looked around the room at the various other competitors. "They all look so strong…"

Alister huffed as he folded his arms. "Physical appearance means nothing. Only skill in a MS. You can be the most terrifying looking person with an incredible looking machine but it means nothing if you don't have skill in using it. So don't worry. I highly doubt any of them are the real deal. Now let's see what they got."

Sei looked at the large screen in the center of the room. "Looks like the first match is Yuuki-Senpai."

"I feel sorry for his opponent." Alister watched as Tatsuya took the stage with another player, the arena lighting up before the match started, ending only a few seconds later. "Well that was boring. If I knew it would be I'd have gone to sleep."

Sei looked up as the two left the arena and saw the screen light up once more. "Oh! We're next!"

"Got it. You going up?"

"Yeah. I'll monitor the Gespenst's status."

"Right. Then let's get going."

The duo made their way up to the large arena in the center of the room and stood opposite Sazaki once more, holding a slightly altered, golden Gyan.

"Oh great, you," Alister mumbled in annoyance.

Sazaki grinned confidently. "I hope you're ready for my Gyan Gya Gyan!"

"Big whoop. You painted it gold. Just makes you an easier target."

Sazaki growled angrily. "Why you…! I'll prove it's better!"

The desert area appeared on the large arena as the two machines launched.

"So what's the secret of this spike?" Alister asked to Sei, standing just behind him.

"I've tied it to the Jet Magnum system, and it charges in all the power that would normally go to three sabers," Sei explained.

"Nice," Alister muttered.

"Battle Start," the computer announced.

Alister immediately dashed forth, Sazaki raising his Gyan Gya Gyan's two shields and firing a barrage of missiles.

Alister dodged to the side and fired multiple shots at Sazaki, the brunette raising his two shields.

When Sazaki lowered his shields, however, he looked around in bewilderment. "W – Wait… where is he!?"

Just as suddenly as he shouted this, Alister appeared behind him, the spike on his Gespenst's right arm glowing bright with energy before he slammed it into the back of Gyan Gya Gyan's back, piercing the generator, before jumping away as it exploded.

Sazaki paled in disbelief. "No! My Gyan Gya Gyan!"

Alister yawned in boredom as the arena vanished. He grabbed the Gespenst and turned away.

"That was fast…" Sei muttered in shock.

Alister huffed. "It was boring. He had no real improvement at all. Now we wait for the next match?"

"Ours won't be until tomorrow."

"Ah… Then I'm going home. None of the rest interest me."

"Okay?"

As he left, however, he heard the crowd start to cheer wildly. "Hm?" Turning back, he saw a young woman with long, wavy, bright pink hair tied in two, zagged pigtails by star-shaped ornaments, flat-cut bangs ending just above her dark violet eyes, wearing a frilled white collar, elbow-length white gloves, a tight, white top that barely covered her moderate bust, a star-shaped tattoo on her waist, thigh-high white boots, and short, white shorts with red trim.

The girl smiled as multiple men in bright outfits followed her, enthralled, the men in the stadium cheering wildly as well.

"And who's she?" Alister questioned in thought as he looked at the girl.

"Dunno," Sei remarked.

The girl suddenly kicked a leg up, put a peace sign next to her eye with a wink and smiled playfully. "Kiraran!"

The men in the crowd excitedly replied, "Kiraran!"

Alister tilted his head in confusion. "The hell's a Kiraran?"

The girl smiled happily as she took to the stage. "Hi, everybody! Your PT Idol, Kirara, is here!"

"Never heard of her," Alister noted.

The battle started and moments later the opposing model's joints popped right off before Kirara blasted it to pieces.

Alister narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "That shouldn't have happened."

Kirara winked playfully. "Kiraran!"

* * *

Later on, Alister sighed as he sat on Rinko's sofa. "Good god I'm bored… I need something to do… maybe cook…"

Rinko hummed in thought as she walked past him. "Hm? What for?"

"Something to do. Besides I haven't gotten a chance to in a while."

Rinko put a hand on her chin in thought. "Hm… okay, I don't mind."

"Thanks," Alister chirped before heading towards the kitchen.

* * *

Sei blinked in thought as he looked over the assortment of beef, shrimp, and greens on the table. "I've never seen you make this before, Mom."

"Because I didn't," Rinko remarked with a smile.

"Huh?"

"I did," Alister urged.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Huh…" Sei mumbled in thought before taking a bite of the beef. "Huh, it's good."

"Why do you two seem so surprised?" Alister asked, perturbed.

"Well…"

"You just don't seem the type to cook," Rinko remarked.

"It's something I learned to do outside of training."

Rinko blinked before nodding in understanding. "Ah. Well you're quite good at it."

"Thanks, beautiful."

Rinko smiled slyly. "Certainly."

Sei looked between the two in confusion.

* * *

The next day, Alister sighed as he stood behind the cash register for Rinko. "Man, this waiting stuff is so boring…"

He heard the door open and looked to see a young woman with long, straight, dark purple hair that reached her waist, her straight-cut bangs ending just above her violet eyes, wearing a tall, pink beret, a long, form-fitting, dark purple coat that showed off her sizable bust, and black, high-heeled boots.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"My name is Mihoshi," the girl greeted. "Is this Iori Models?"

Alister nodded in return. "Yes it is Ms. How can I help you?"

"I heard that the pilot of that custom Gespenst is from here."

Alister pointed to himself. "You're looking at him."

Her eyes glimmered with excitement. " _You're_ the pilot!?"

Alister frowned slightly. "Yes… why…?"

"Can I see it!?"

"No," he replied bluntly.

"Aw…" she pouted.

Alister shrugged lightly. "Sorry Ms. Just don't want to show it to anybody without good reason. Can't be too careful. Especially with one of the opponents in the tournament. Kinaban I think she's called."

"It's Kirara," Mihoshi corrected sternly before stiffening slightly.

"Kinana?"

"Kirara!"

Alister chuckled lightly. "Guess you're a fan of this Kilala?"

"Y – Yeah… something like that."

"I see."

"So you really won't let me see it…?"

"Sorry. Just don't want to risk sabotage. I think that's what happened to Kilimanjaro's last opponent."

"That's not even similar!"

"Really?"

Mihoshi twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.

"What?"

"N – Nothing…" she muttered before turning to leave.

"You're not going to buy anything Ms.?"

Mihoshi shook her head in response. "Nah, not this time."

"Ah. Well I hope to see you again, Mihoshi. Beautiful name, by the way."

Mihoshi looked at him in surprise.

"Something wrong?"

"N – No, it's nothing," she muttered quickly before walking out of the store.

Alister raised an eyebrow as she left. "Weird girl. Beautiful but weird." However, at that same moment China walked into the store and looked around in confusion. "Ah. Kousaka. Nice seeing you here."

China stiffened slightly as she looked up at Alister. "U – Uh, hey… is Iori here?"

Alister nodded. "Yeah in his room I think."

"O – Oh…"

"Something wrong?"

"Uh, n – no…"

"I see."

After several moments of silence China asked, "Um… you were really good at the tournament."

"Um, thanks. But that guy lacked any real skill."

"O – Oh…"

"Yeah. Wonder if my next opponent will be fun. Whoever they are."

"Um, right…"

Alister frowned in annoyance before turning to the nearby hallway. "Oy! Sei!"

China blushed slightly from his shout.

"Get out here!"

"I'm busy!" Sei called back from his room.

"That cute girl from your class is here!"

China's face immediately turned bright red.

"So get your ass out here! You're too young to start becoming a hermit!" He then turned his attention back to China. "Sorry about that. He'll be here soon. Or I'll get him myself. Till then want to look around the shop?"

"U – Um, sure…" she answered unsurely.

Alister showed her over to one of the shelves as she looked around in awe.

"There's so many…"

"Yeah. Want one?"

"Um…" she mumbled in uncertainty.

Alister quickly panned over the shelves and grabbed a box labeled "Beargguy". "How about this one?"

China looked it over in thought before gasping in surprise. "Ccuuttee!"

"You know how to build one of these things?"

"… S – Somewhat…"

"Ah. Neither do I."

"Ah…"

Sei rushed out into the front of the store. "Hey, Kousaka, sorry I'm – oh, are you buying a model?"

China stiffened and turned to him in surprise. "Y – Yes, I am. I – I was hoping that… that you'd show me how to build it."

Sei blinked in thought.

Alister frowned in annoyance. ' _Do it dumbass._ '

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Thanks!"

* * *

Shortly later, Sei and China sat in Sei's room as Sei instructed China to build the model.

Pointing to one of the parts, Sei directed, "So, just put this part here, then use the sandpaper, and…" he trailed off before looking back in annoyance at Rinko, standing at the doorway, watching them with stars in her eyes. "What are you doing…?"

"My son… Spending time with a girl…" Rinko mumbled in excitement.

Alister tilted his head in confusion. "They're just kids, they're not gonna do anything."

"So? This is still good!"

Alister chuckled lightly. "You sure dote on him. A lot."

"Well he _is_ my son. So of course I will."

"Right…"

* * *

Several hours passed before the model was finished and China went to the door before looking outside and realizing the sun had gone down. "Oh no. It's dark outside."

"Yeah…" Sei muttered, feeling guilty.

"Guess that means you're sleeping over!" Rinko chirped excitedly.

"Eh!?"

"H – Huh!?" China gasped as well.

"Is that a problem?" Alister muttered.

"N – No…" Sei mumbled.

China frowned in worry. "M – My parents might not like it…"

"Would they want you walking the streets at night?" Alister challenged.

China stiffened at his words.

Rinko nodded as she spoke on the phone before putting the receiver down. "I just spoke with your mother, China. She says it's okay."

China blinked in surprise. "R – Right."

Alister then raised his eyebrows in realization. "Wait, do you have anymore spare rooms?"

Rinko smirked. "That won't be a problem. She can share with Sei."

"EEHH!?" the two children shrieked in surprise.

"What?"

Alister nodded in agreement with Rinko. "Yeah. What's the problem?"

"Y – You can't be serious!" China shrieked with a blush. "I – It's a boy and girl in the same room together… alone…"

Alister smirked lightly. "Oh? I guess girls really do mature faster than boys if you're already thinking about that kind of stuff."

China turned bright red in response.

"Wow!" Rinko gasped.

Sei tilted his head in total bewilderment.

Alister sighed with a shrug. "Come on, it'll be fine. If it bothers you that much I'll stay on the couch and she can use mine. Okay?"

"You could sleep in my room," Rinko offered.

"Oh?"

"Yep! My bed is definitely big enough."

Sei tilted his head in confusion as China's face turned neon red.

* * *

Alister stood next Rinko as she motioned to her large, violet, queen-sized bed. "This is a pretty big bed you've got."

"Yes, it is," Rinko responded chirpily before Alister flopped into a chair nearby. "Huh?"

Alister explained simply, "I can sleep here. I've slept in worse spots."

Rinko frowned slightly in disappointment.

"Oh? What's with that expression?"

"I was hoping you'd get in bed with me," Rinko rebutted.

"And you don't think it a bit sudden?"

"What? It'd just be us sharing a bed. It's not like we will be having sex so soon."

"You haven't exactly kept it secret that you want it though."

"Huh?"

Alister sighed before crawling in bed next to her. "Nevermind."

Rinko smiled before laying down as well.

* * *

Alister yawned as he awoke the next morning before seeing Rinko cuddled close next to him. "… Great, I'm stuck." His attention then moved down to her monumental mounds pressed against his side. "… So soft… and big…"

Rinko then shifted in her sleep, gripping him tighter.

"Oh great…" He then poked her cheek lightly. "Hey, Rinko, wake up."

Rinko moaned softly from his touch.

"… Just great… Please wake up before this gets too weird…"

Rinko then slowly stretched her limbs as she slept.

"… Okay, now I know you're awake. So get up or I won't cook breakfast."

Rinko pouted as she sat up in her light purple, transparent nightwear. "You're no fun."

"Only when I want to be."

* * *

"And done," Alister remarked as he prepared breakfast.

"Smells good…" China mumbled sleepily as she walked in.

"Hopefully the taste matches."

"Yeah," Sei added.

"Let's eat!"

* * *

Later in the day, Alister sighed as he stretched. "Time for the next match, eh?"

"Yep!" Sei chirped excitedly.

"And our next opponent?"

"We won't know until we get there."

"Ah. Gespenst?" Alister then looked ahead and saw a man approach the other side of the arena with a plain, pointed blue model. He blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

The man smirked confidently. "You ready to lose?"

Alister then glanced to the side and noticed Mihoshi sitting in the stands.

"Hey!"

Alister turned his attention to the man in boredom. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"You jackass…"

"No seriously, what were you trying to say? I had something much more interesting to look at."

The man merely growled in annoyance as the computer announced, "Battle Start."

Alister smirked in amusement. "Time to hunt," he remarked as a virtual asteroid field in space appeared. He then sped forward, charging into the asteroid field before jumping to the side as a beam blast flew past him. "Well that wasn't any fun."

"I'll make you pay for dissing me you prick!" the man howled as he flew towards Alister in his blue machine, now in a flight mode. "My Hambrabi will crush you!"

Alister dashed to the side, dodging the charge of the Hambrabi, firing his rifle at him from behind.

The Hambrabi rolled to the side, turning quickly, launching missiles at Alister.

Alister launched a set of missiles from his backpack, taking out the barrage.

The Hambrabi fired a lance out at Alister attached to a cable that coiled around his rifle before sending a powerful surge of electricity.

Alister huffed as he threw the gun away before it exploded, firing a blast of energy from his bazooka.

The Hambrabi transformed and flew to the side, ducking behind an asteroid for cover. The Hambrabi leapt up, firing several missiles and beam blasts at Alister.

"Oh come on, give me a real fight!" Alister hollered as he flew to the side, dodging the shots and sending out more missiles.

The Hambrabi dashed to the side, launching more beam blasts out.

Alister shot to the side at high speed before flying up behind an asteroid.

"Shit, where'd he go!?" the Hambrabi's pilot growled before turning around. "Shit!" he cursed as a beam of energy fired at him, cutting through his machine and blasting it to pieces. The man gaping as his machine exploded.

Alister sighed in annoyance as the holograms disappeared. "Boring…"

Mihoshi smiled as she watched the match end.

"So fast again…" Sei commented in awe. "How does he do it…? I could never be that good…"

"Man that guy is amazing…" Ryusei remarked as he stood next to Kusuha.

Kusuha nodded in awed agreement. "Yeah, I'm sure he can win the world championship too."

"Yep." Ryusei then turned to Sei as he walked by. "And just think how popular your mom's shop will be, Sei."

"Whoa…" Sei muttered in realization. "We'd get so much money for new models…"

Ryusei chuckled lightly. "That's all you think about, isn't it?" He then looked up at the central arena. "Oh! I'm next!"

"Good luck Ryusei!" Sei cheered.

Ryusei grinned as he walked up to the arena.

"I don't think I saw his battle before," Alister remarked as he and Sei went to the stands.

"That's because you left too fast," Sei admonished.

"Because none of the fights were interesting."

* * *

 **And there you have the first chapter! It was not as long as most of my starter chapters, but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless. Be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. If you were uncertain, confused, or simply had questions about anything leave a review letting me know and I will do what I can to address your queries. If you did not enjoy the chapter... sorry? Post a review if you must but might I suggest you do something you actually enjoy instead? Regardless, I have nothing left to say here, so I will see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

 **Greetings and salutations all my wonderful readers! I have returned with another chapter to the The Endless War. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. Be sure to leave a review if you do. At any rate, I would like to thank my coauthor Bakuto Masaki for all of his help with the story thus far and in the future and Kaesarthe42nd for his, as usual, great work on the cover art for the story. So, why don't we move on to the reviewer responses, no?**

 **Sonicdude8: I understand your impatience, but this is actually one I've been sitting on for a while and only recently uploaded, I actually finished the first chapter about two months ago.**

 **Victinis Victory: Yeah, it's a great series with some great characters. They are. The model Alister's using is a model from the show/games, though it only appeared for a very short time in the Original Generation for reasons that would count as spoilers. But the mech in question is called the Gespenst Mk-II Type-SA.**

 **Travis Moon: Just keep reading my friend.**

 **Now, with that done, let us move right along to the main event.**

 **ATTENTION: Lemon in this chapter! I know, a bit quick, but hey, it is what it is.**

* * *

Ryusei looked up at the central arena with a grin. "Oh! I'm next!"

"Good luck Ryusei!" Sei cheered.

Ryusei grinned as he walked up to the arena.

"I don't think I saw his battle before," Alister remarked as he and Sei went to the stands.

"That's because you left too fast," Sei admonished.

"Because none of the fights were interesting."

Kusuha laughed weakly. "Come on, Ryusei's pretty good."

"Oh?" Alister muttered, looking up to the stage curiously.

Ryusei grinned confidently and placed his kit, a bulky, green and white machine with several pods on its back. "No one can beat my Forever GM!"

Alister frowned slightly. "That's what he uses? Doesn't look very sturdy. At all. You sure he can handle himself?"

"He'll be fine," Kusuha eased.

Alister shrugged slightly. "Right. Well we will see soon enough I guess."

At that same moment, Tatsuya walked onto the stage with his Zaku Amazing in hand.

"Well he's screwed," Alister deadpanned.

"Yeah…" Sei mumbled weakly with worry.

"So how many seconds you think he'll last?"

Kusuha pouted lightly. "H – Hey, come on, that's not nice…"

Alister shrugged lightly. "What? It's an honest question. His opponent has two things going for him. Skill and a superior unit."

Tatsuya prepared to place his Zaku Amazing when the cellphone in his pocket started to ring.

Alister frowned slightly as Tatsuya answered his phone. "Answering his phone in the middle of the match? Why's he doing that?"

Tatsuya nodded with annoyance. "I understand." He immediately closed his phone and then raised his hand. "I forfeit."

"… Wha…?"

"H – Huh?!" Ryusei muttered in disbelief.

The gathered crowd gaped in shock as Tatsuya walked away.

Alister closed his eyes, focusing on his ears as Tatsuya grumbled quietly.

"They couldn't have waited a little longer…" Tatsuya murmured as he left.

Alister frowned in suspicion as he wondered what the other brunette meant.

"Does that mean… I win…?" Ryusei wondered in bewilderment.

"Guess that means our match is next," Alister noted as he stretched lightly. "Better get to it."

Suddenly the lights in the stadium went dim.

"Huh? Power outage?"

A spotlight then shone down on Kirara as she sang to the crowd before spinning into a pose, her hips out and a hand next her face with a grin. "It's me, your PT Idol, Kirara! Kiraran!"

Alister frowned slightly. "Oh. It's Kimono."

Kirara twitched an eyebrow in irritation and turned to him. "It's Kirara!"

Alister blinked in surprise and then smirked in amusement. "Aahh, so _that's_ why you wanted to see the Gespenst."

Kirara stiffened in worry. "Wh – What are you talking about?" she stammered.

"Oh, nothing 'Mihoshi'."

Kirara paled in horror.

Sei looked at Alister in confusion.

Alister smirked and grabbed the Gespenst. "I'll handle this one. So sit back and watch."

The duo then stepped up to the arena and placed their kits.

"Good luck, Mihoshi," Alister eased.

Kirara stiffened and huffed, "I – I don't know who you're talking about."

"Really? Well good luck is wishing good things to happen to others, right?"

"Uh… yes?"

"Then you do know what I'm talking about, Mihoshi."

"M – My name's Kirara!"

The duo's back and forth was interrupted as the computer announced, "Beginning Plavsky Particle Dispersal."

Alister grinned excitedly. "Get ready Mihoshi."

Kirara huffed in annoyance. "It's. Kirara."

"Why do you deny your real name? Or is the other name you gave me the fake?"

Kirara growled in annoyance and pushed a button to activate private communications with Alister. "You're really irritating me!"

"How am I doing that?"

"My name is Kirara not Mihoshi, call me Kirara!"

Alister replied, "Answer my question and I will."

"What question?!"

"Is Kirara your stage name or your real name?"

Kirara twitched an eyebrow angrily. "Oh, for the love of – fine! Kirara's my stage name!"

"Then Mihoshi it is."

Kirara growled angrily in desperate annoyance.

"What?"

"Don't call me that in public!" Kirara demanded in desperation.

"Then only the bedroom?"

Kirara stiffened as her face turned deep red. "What is _with_ you?!"

Alister chuckled lightly. "You're so easy to fluster and it's really cute. Though I bet you'd look even cuter out of that outfit and in normal clothes with your real hair."

Kirara puffed her cheeks before sighing in exasperation. "How'd you even figure it out?"

"Your reaction when I called you Kimono. It was the same reaction you had when I called you Kinaban. And the fact weren't in the stands."

"I… see…" she muttered in thought before widening her eyes, "wait you did that on purpose!?"

Alister tilted his head curiously. "Did you really think I was that stupid?"

"Yes!"

"Huh. Guess you've never heard the phrase 'look underneath the underneath'. Just because you see one thing doesn't mean that's how it truly is. Anyway, it's time to hunt."

"H – Hunt?"

* * *

Outside the arena, the crowd watched curiously.

"They're just… standing there," Sei commented curiously.

Alister's Gespenst suddenly charged forward.

Kirara's machine, a rounded, bright pink machine with several thrusters, reacted by dashing backwards.

"There they go," Ryusei commented.

* * *

Alister fired his rifle at Kirara, before she dodged to the side. "Are you just going to keep running, Mihoshi?"

Kirara snarled in annoyance. "Stop that!" she growled before shooting her rifle at him.

Alister smirked as he dodged to the side. "Well you are running Mihoshi. So, why should I?"

Kirara launched a volley of missiles at him which he shot down.

"Aren't you going to answer?"

"Just lose!" the pinkette demanded desperately as she shot at him.

Alister dodged to the side with a smirk before charging at her. "Sorry. Can't do that against someone living a lie."

"It's not a lie! It's the only way!" she growled before firing missiles.

Alister fired at the missiles, blowing them out of the sky. "Then why do you hide your true self? Why do you use a fake name instead of your real one? Why are you in this tournament if you obviously don't enjoy it?"

Kirara, becoming desperately enraged, dodged before chucking a grenade at him. "I'm playing this stupid game because my manager said it'll make me famous!"

Alister kicked the grenade away. "At what? PT battles? And if so the one being made famous isn't you but Kirara."

"I'm going to become the top idol in Japan, and eventually the world! And I'll get my name out there by becoming the champion of this game! I had to spend hours watching stupid cartoons and playing annoying games, memorizing names like Gouf and Supplice, all so I can one day become the world's greatest idol!"

"That makes no sense. If you do this shouldn't you focus on something you enjoy and using your true identity instead?"

"Oh please, Mihoshi's just a lonely brat nobody likes, a normal girl without anything. But Kirara's the energetic idol obsessed with everything the boys love!"

Alister frowned in disappointment. "But that's not the real you. And I like Mihoshi."

Kirara stiffened as her eyes widened. "Wh – What…? S – Stop trying to mess with me!"

"How am I doing that Mihoshi?"

Kirara growled and fired a stream of bullets at Alister's machine. "Saying you like that boring bland girl who just vanishes in a crowd!"

Alister easily dodged her shots. "Then how come I noticed you in it with a glance?"

"Huh?" Kirara muttered in confusion.

"I did say I saw you in the audience."

Kirara gazed in disbelief before the left arm of her mech exploded. "H – Hey!"

"We are still fighting Mihoshi."

Kirara snarled as she dodged to the side, launching missiles as she shot at him. "Stupid producer! Why didn't he make this thing tougher!?"

"It's not the machine it's the pilot," Alister remarked bluntly.

"Shut up!" she shrieked as she continued shooting at him.

"Then stop trying to be someone else," he urged as he dashed towards her, ducking as she tried to whack him with the edge of her rifle before slamming his fist into the torso of her machine. "It's over, Mihoshi. Jet Magnum!" he shouted as the poles on the arm of his Gespenst lit up and plowed into Kirara's Gerbera Tetra, blowing it to pieces.

"No! No, dammit!" she cursed as the displays dissipated.

"Battle Ended," the computer's voice said enigmatically.

Alister sighed in exasperation as he watched Kirara stumble back.

"No… my dream… Kirara's dream…" she muttered in defeat.

"Mihoshi…?" Alister asked weakly.

"Now I'll never become a top idol!"

Several of her fans, clad in shirts bearing her image, crowded around her.

"W – We'll try again next time!" the first one cheered.

"I – I'll make you an even stronger Personal Trooper!" the second one added.

"I can't wait a whole year!" Kirara shrieked.

"Will you quit it!?" Alister snarled angrily, shocking the pink-haired girl.

"H – Huh?" she mumbled.

"You're acting like a child over losing at something you don't even like! So what if you lost in this?! It has nothing to do with singing!"

Kirara frowned in disappointment and argued weakly, "But people need to know my name first."

"Which will never happen with that damn pseudonym! So stop trying to hide the real you!"

Kirara merely stared at Alister in confusion.

"This is really weird," Sei muttered.

China flattened her brow in annoyance. "Iori…"

"Y – Yeah…?"

"Be quiet."

"R – Right…"

Alister blinked and turned to Sei, handing the Gespenst to him. "Oh, right, Sei, here. The Gespenst. I think it might need some work."

"Huh?" Sei muttered before looking down at it, seeing the charred and shattered right arm. "What'd you do?!"

"I… might have diverted a bit too much power to the arm…"

Sei stared blankly at Alister.

"That's the same expression every mechanic I've met gave me."

"I wonder why…" the boy muttered sarcastically.

Alister shrugged lightly as Rinko giggled in amusement. "Yeah. I haven't figured it out myself either."

* * *

Back at Rinko's house, Alister sighed as he flopped onto the sofa.

Rinko walked over to him with two glasses of tea and sat next to him. "So, mind if I ask what you said to her?"

Alister raised an eyebrow slightly. "Just told her to stop hiding her true self and be herself."

Rinko blinked in mild surprise before smiling.

"What?"

"Nothing. Now, why don't we –" she began before the doorbell to the store rang. "Huh? A customer at this hour?"

Alister stood and offered, "I'll get it."

* * *

Making his way to the front, Alister looked in surprise as he saw Mihoshi, now out of her Kirara costume, standing at the door. "Good to see you Mihoshi," he greeted as he opened the door.

"H – Hey…" she greeted weakly as she walked in.

"Good to see you as you," Alister greeted.

"Y – Yeah… I've been thinking about what you said."

"Ah. And?"

Mihoshi steeled herself slightly and answered, "At least for now, I'm going to continue being Kirara."

"I see…" Alister muttered in disappointment.

With a small, excited smile, she added, "That way I can go with you to the championship."

Alister blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

Mihoshi immediately stiffened as her face reddened. "I – I mean…! Wait, I didn't mean it like that…!"

"What?" Alister muttered in growing befuddlement.

Rinko, standing behind him with a smile, added, "She just means that she wants to see you and Sei compete in the championship."

"Y – Yeah!" Mihoshi answered loudly with a relieved smile.

Alister turned from Rinko back to Mihoshi. "Ah. Thanks, Mihoshi."

"Y – Yeah," she answered with an uncomfortable laugh before evening her expression. "But after the tournament's over, I'm going to start singing my own songs, with my own name, not Kirara."

Alister smiled with relief. "I'll be sure to watch you sing Mihoshi."

Mihoshi's eyes lit up with a smile of excitement.

Rinko smiled mischievously before offering, "Why don't you come in and have a drink?"

Mihoshi twitched lightly, having forgotten Rinko was there. "S – Sure. Thank you, Miss…"

"Rinko Iori. The mechanic for Alister's machine is my son, Sei."

"Ah… So, you didn't build your PT either?" she asked to Alister.

Alister shook his head. "No, but the one who did build it made it with everything he's got. So, it's only natural that I pilot it with my full ability. Though…"

"Though…?"

With a weak chuckle, he explained, "I… kinda busted its arm during our battle."

"Ah… well considering I exploded right next to you it's not surprising."

"True."

After a moment of silence, Mihoshi added meekly, "Um, also, I want to apologize."

"Hm? What for?"

"Trying to tamper with the Gespenst," she explained guiltily.

Alister waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Since I was perceptive enough to figure out what you wanted it didn't happen. Just chock it up to a bad decision and move past it."

Mihoshi stared in surprise. "Wait… you're not mad?"

Alister raised an eyebrow in consternation. "Why would I be? Now, come on, let's get something to eat, I'm starving."

Rinko suddenly clapped her hands together excitedly. "I actually have something I was planning on making tomorrow, but I'll whip it up now," she stated before dashing off.

"Uh… okay." Alister then turned back to Mihoshi. "Why don't we sit?"

"R – Right."

* * *

Shortly later, Rinko came to the table with a large pot. "Sorry it took so long."

"It's fine, Rinko," Alister eased.

"It smells really good…" Mihoshi mumbled.

"And more than likely tastes as good."

Mihoshi looked around in confusion. "Where is Sei anyway?"

"Probably working on the Gespenst. He's been working on it since we got back."

"Wow…"

Rinko nodded and added with a smile, "Yes, he's quite obsessed with it. Perhaps a little too much, like his rotten father."

' _She said it with such a sweet smile!_ ' Alister and Mihoshi unwittingly shrieked in thought at the same time.

"R – Right…" Mihoshi muttered lightly.

"A – Anyway, let's eat," Alister redirected weakly.

* * *

Shortly after, the trio finished the meal.

"That was great Rinko," Alister praised.

Rinko smiled pleasantly. "Why thank you."

Mihoshi added, "It's even better than the professional chefs my manager hires."

Rinko smiled as her face reddened. "Aaww… you're making blush from the praise. Oh, right, Mihoshi-Chan, do you have a place to stay?"

Mihoshi nodded in reply. "Yes, I'm staying in a hotel a few minutes away by cab."

Alister then offered, "Want me to escort you back?"

Mihoshi stiffened in response with a reddened face. "S – Sure."

"Right," Alister added as he stood before extending a hand to her. "Shall we go?"

"R – Right…" she mumbled as her face turned a deeper red.

Rinko grinned mischievously as they left.

* * *

"It's so dark…" Mihoshi muttered as they walked back to her hotel, night having fallen during her stay.

Alister glanced at her in thought. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you Mihoshi."

Mihoshi flinched before frowning defensively. "I – I'm not worried!"

The brunette chuckled lightly. "Well if something does happen you'll be fine," he offered before putting an arm over her shoulders. "Okay?"

"Y – Yeah," she stammered as her face glowed red.

Several minutes passed before Alister asked, "So… we almost there?"

Mihoshi trembled before looking around frantically and seeing her hotel, a large, ornate building with a large golden door. "Y – Yeah!"

Alister blinked in thought. "… You mean the hotel we just passed?"

The purplette blushed in embarrassment. "Y – Yes…"

"Right," he responded with amusement.

* * *

"And now we arrived," he noted as they walked up to the door.

"Um, thanks for walking me back," Mihoshi muttered lightly as she walked to the door.

Alister began to reply when they both heard a girl scream before a man got thrown into the nearby wall so hard he embedded into it. "Huh?" Alister mumbled before turning to the source of the scream, seeing a young woman with elbow-length, wavy, bright brown hair, a large pink bow in the back, her fringe coming to a point between her violet eyes, her bangs framing her face and ending just above her generous bosom, wearing a well-fitting, red blouse, a blue blazer overtop, a knee-length, loose, black skirt, and blue high-heeled shoes, clutching her pink purse tightly.

The woman then flinched as she looked at the man and paled. "Oops… I overdid it again…"

Alister frowned and rushed over to her. "Hey, you okay?"

She stiffened as she turned to him before laughing unconvincingly. "Y – Yup, just fine."

Alister furrowed his brow incredulously. "You don't sound fine beautiful."

"No, really, I'm okay, just a little startled from that thief."

Alister blinked before turning to the man. "You mean that guy you embedded in the wall?"

"… Uh… yeah…"

Mihoshi poked the man curiously with a stick, getting no response.

The brunette looked at Mihoshi in confusion before her eyes widening. "Mihoshi?"

The purplette looked up and saw the brown-haired woman. "Huh? Wait, Miu?"

Alister looked between the duo. "You two know each other?"

Mihoshi nodded in response. "Yeah. She's a fellow idol."

Alister turned his attention to Miu. "That so? You're pretty strong for an idol."

Miu stiffened and laughed weakly. "I – I just caught him off guard!"

Alister frowned slightly. "Right… anyway, I was just walking Mihoshi back to her hotel, so I guess I'll see you two later."

Mihoshi frowned in disappointment as he walked away, Miu watching curiously. "Great…" the purplette grumbled in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Miu questioned.

"Nothing…"

* * *

Alister yawned as he slowly woke up, sighing as he flexed his shoulders. "Another day…" he muttered before turning to see Rinko, in loose-fitting nightwear, cuddled close to him. He sat silently before reaching a hand to her round bottom and squeezing gently, causing a shiver to shake through her body. "I know you're awake," he noted flatly.

Rinko opened her eyes with a light pout. "You're no fun at all."

Alister shrugged lightly as he sat up and stretched. "As I said before, only when I want to be."

Rinko sat up with a yawn before putting a finger on her chin in thought. "Guess I'd better prepare breakfast."

Alister raised an eyebrow curiously. "I was planning to make pancakes and sausages today beautiful. But if you want to make something I won't stop you."

Rinko shook her head in response with a smile. "No, that's perfectly fine. I'll go check on Sei."

"Sure, beautiful."

* * *

Rinko, now dressed in her usual yellow sweater and tight jeans, walked up to Sei's room and peered in, seeing the boy passed on his desk with pieces of the Gespenst strewn around him, causing her to release a heavy, amused, sigh.

* * *

"Well?" Alister asked as he worked over the stove.

"He fell asleep working on that robot," Rinko answered as she sat down.

"Ah… Guess I'll save some for him later."

Rinko then leaned forward with a grin on her lips. "So, how'd your date with Mihoshi-Chan go?"

Alister looked at her mildly confused. "Date? All I did was escort her back to her hotel."

Rinko's smile dropped immediately. "Really? Aw…"

Alister then looked upward in thought. "Though… I guess I should ask her out. If only to make Excellen happy."

"Excellen?"

"My girlfriend."

"Oh…" the blue-haired beauty pouted.

"She's got this obsession with getting me a harem."

"Oh?" she asked, perked up in curiosity.

Alister nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. One of the things on her lists are milfs. Whatever they are."

Rinko's eyes sparkled deviously. "I think I can help with that."

"Really?"

"Yes, but first let's eat breakfast."

* * *

"Yum," Alister commented in satisfaction as he finished his meal.

"Yes, it was very good…" Rinko noted in surprise.

Alister then stood before stretching. "Okay, time to wake the kid." He then began filling a pot from the kitchen with cold water.

Rinko watched curiously as the brunette left the room before he heard Sei shriek deafeningly.

* * *

"What was that for?!" Sei screeched as he scowled at Alister, coated in frigid water.

Alister answered plainly, "You wouldn't wake up."

"So you splashed me with cold water!?"

"Worked, didn't it?"

Sei twitched an eyebrow in irritation. "What do you want anyway?"

"To wake you for breakfast. Your mom and I just got done eating. Lest you don't want any."

Sei merely stared at Alister in annoyance.

* * *

Later that day, Alister walked around the city in curiosity, looking around. "Hmm… Nice day…" As he continued he heard light giggling nearby, turning, he saw Ricardo holding a model of a white, blue, and red robot talking with a girl.

Ricardo smirked as he leaned next to the girl. "It's the Victory Gundam. It has a sophisticated design and a streamlined form. This Gundam is well-suited to beauty like you," he commented as he handed the model to her, causing the woman to giggle.

Alister twitched an eyebrow and walked over to the flirting man as he continued.

"And I –" Ricardo continued before the model was suddenly snatched from the woman's hand.

The woman looked up at Alister in mild thought as he shook the model lightly. "This thing's junk," Alister sneered.

Ricardo stood with a growl. "Wh – Why you! I spent three days building that Personal Trooper to rope in girls!"

The woman flinched away from Ricardo, disgusted.

Alister snorted, "Then you did a crappy job on it. This thing wouldn't survive long in a real fight." He then lightly clenched his fist around the kit, causing it to immediately shatter in his grasp. "See? Junk."

The Italian Dandy paled in horror before turning to the where the woman sat. "Th – That's not - Senorita?" he sputtered as he saw she was gone. "Where's the Senorita?!"

"She left angry at you Rico," Alister said bluntly as he wiped the dust from his hand.

Ricardo frowned and corrected, "It's Ricardo. Ricardo Fellini."

"Whatever playboy. I see you're in the tournament. Thought me busting your Glint didn't stop that."

"I've got something new. My Partner."

"Can't wait to destroy that too."

"If you make it that far."

Alister raised an eyebrow in mild confusion. "Are you talking about yourself?"

"Very funny," Ricardo hissed.

"How was I being funny?"

The man sighed in exasperation and urged, "What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just heard something and checked it out, Ricky."

"Ri – car – do," he corrected harshly.

"Sure thing, Ricky Bobby."

"Forget it. I'm going to make a new PT to get girls, so go away."

Alister shrugged as he turned to leave. "Sure. You don't need my help to blunder it after all."

Ricardo frowned in disappointment. "… You don't even want to see my Partner?"

"I'll see it in the tournament."

The tanned man hissed as Alister left.

As Alister walked down the pavement he sighed in irritation. "Man, I'm hungry…"

"Oh, hello again," a familiar voice greeted.

Alister turned to see Miu standing nearby. "Huh? Oh, you're Mihoshi's friend. Miu right?"

The brunette woman nodded with a pleasant smile. "Yes. Miu Kujou."

Alister returned the smile. "Beautiful name for a lovely lady. I'm Alister Manase."

Miu blinked in surprise. "Alister?"

"Yep. Why? You heard of me?"

She stiffened slightly and then laughed weakly. "Uh… n – no, just sounds… familiar."

"Huh. I see. I figured it was a pretty rare name."

"What are you doing anyway?" she quickly redirected.

"Exploring. And looking for a place to eat. You?" he answered, simply following her lead.

"Same."

"Huh. Wanna go eat together then?"

"S – Sure," she answered slightly off guard.

"Great!" he cheered.

* * *

Shortly later, Ricardo groaned as he walked slowly before seeing Alister walking next to Miu, gaping. "That bastard…" he growled before heading over to them across the street swiftly.

Alister glanced to the side and grumbled as he saw Fellini approaching. "Oh great. It's Rinobabo."

"Yo," he greeted with his patented smile.

"What are you doing here? Showing off another junk heap?"

"No," he answered flippantly, "but inspecting a gem," he commented before smirking to Miu.

"Ew…" she groused as she hid slightly behind Alister.

Alister deadpanned to Ricardo, "I think you best leave now."

Ricardo twitched and left, grumbling insults under his breath.

"What a creep," Miu hissed as she stepped back beside Alister.

"Yeah," Alister agreed simply.

Miu then turned her attention back to Alister. "Um, where were we going?"

"A place to eat."

"Oh, right. Any ideas?"

"Not a one."

Miu nodded in understanding before lowering her brow in thought. "Hm… how about something simple?"

* * *

After a short walk, the two stood in front of a small café.

"Huh," Alister commented as he looked around. "This looks good."

Miu blinked curiously as she looked up at the name. "Café… Kousaka."

"Huh. Wonder if it's related to that cute classmate of Sei's."

"Uwah!" China, walking with Sei, shrieked in surprise at the comment.

"Alister? Why are you here?" Sei questioned as they approached the other two.

"To eat," Alister answered simply.

"Ah. Well China's dad makes good food so it's a good choice."

China muttered in quiet confusion, "Wh – Why'd he call me cute…?"

"Because you are," Alister answered simply.

China stiffened in shock. ' _He heard that!?_ '

"Something wrong?"

"N – No!"

"Okay?"

The four entered the store and saw a plain man behind the counter, China's father, standing perplexed. "Oh dear…" he muttered.

"Papa?" China asked as the four walked in.

"Oh, China," her father noted.

"What's wrong?"

Her father laughed weakly and motioned to the customer in front of him. "This boy is trying to pay for the shortfall with a toy."

"What?" Alister asked incredulously.

"It's not a toy, it's a PT," argued a young boy with short, green hair, squinted eyes, and a very urban outfit topped with a straw hat. "And look at the quality."

"That's not the issue…" China's father argued weakly.

"How much could you sell it for?" Alister interjected.

The boy looked at Alister in thought. "Hm? About twelve thousand yen."

"Whoa!" Sei suddenly shouted.

"Decent amount. Why can't you just pay for it?"

The boy frowned in embarrassment. "Sensei didn't give me much change.

Sei immediately ran up to the model on the counter, a black and grey robot with large wings and a long scythe. "No way! This is the Gundam Deathscythe Hell! Finished to perfection!"

"The what?" Alister wondered as he looked at the model.

"The Deathscythe Hell! It's incredible!"

"Never heard of it."

Sei looked at Alister with a flat expression.

"What?"

"N – Nothing…" Sei then turned his attention to the other boy. "Did you make this?"

The boy laughed weakly. "Y – Yeah. Don't look at it so closely, I'm ashamed that I built it so quickly here. It's far from perfect."

Alister raised an intrigued eyebrow and added his thoughts to the conversation. "Want to test it in a fight?"

The boy waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, it wouldn't win against anything with any time put into it."

"Hm… I see… It's definitely better than that scrapheap Fellini made. A lot better."

"Fellini?" The boy's face then went wide in disbelief. "Ricardo Fellini!? The Italian champion!"

He looked at the boy with a deadpan. "That douche is a champion? Jeez. They give anybody a title like that in the civvies sector. Hell, Bullet could beat Fellini."

"Who's that?" Sei wondered.

"I don't know. Some cannon fodder Excellen told me she's in the same unit with. My point is, even the most greenhorn military pilot could be that supposed champion. I certainly hope things step up in this tournament or I'm going to be bored as hell. Hm… Maybe I should break one of the Gespenst's arms…"

Sei paled in horror. "Eh!? No way!"

"Aw…"

The other boy blinked curiously. "Gespenst? Wait, are you Sei Iori?"

Alister glanced at him curiously. "Who, me or him?"

The boy remained silent, his gaze darting back and forth between Alister and Sei until steam began flowing from his eyes and he collapsed.

"Kid must not be good at thinking. Oh well."

China's father then interjected into the conversation. "Um… his bill still needs paid."

Alister turned to him and asked, "Do you accept military credits?"

"If that's all you have."

"Cool. How much?"

* * *

The boy bowed repeatedly to Alister and the others. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem, kid," Alister retorted.

The boy added, "My name is Mao Yasaka."

"Got it."

Mao then glanced over to Sei and China with a pout. "I'm jealous you have such a cute girlfriend."

China's face turned bright red as Sei sputtered, "H – Huh?! N – No! We're not like that at all!"

Alister sighed and knocked him on the head lightly. "Idiot. It's kinda obvious you two like each other."

"Eh!?" the blue-haired boy shrieked.

"… Loud."

Mao frowned in concern. "Did I do something wrong?"

Alister waved a hand dismissively. "No kid you didn't. Sei's just a little thick."

"Ah…" Mao then cleared his throat and turned his attention directly to Sei. "Ahem, though I'm glad I finally met you, Sei Iori, my lifelong rival!"

Alister slapped a hand over his face in utter disbelief. "Is this entire city built on a leaky gas pipe…? I mean seriously!?"

"Eh!?" Sei shrieked, again.

Mao continued, "My name is Mao Yasaka! I won the Japanese Fifth Block of the Burning PT Championship, and I want to become the best PT builder in the world!"

"I – I see…"

Alister folded his arms and interjected, "Best Builder doesn't mean much to me. Best Pilot does."

"Well then, you're just uncultured."

"I beat the Italian with a basic Gespenst."

Mao gaped in disbelief. "Wh – What!? No! That's not possible!"

"And why is that?"

"I've seen Fellini's builds, they're always so grand, so great, so perfect! Well, not as good as mine but still! There's no way someone who doesn't even know how to build one could beat him."

Alister flattened his brow incredulously. "You… _do_ realize building a mecha and piloting it are separate things, right? I mean seriously. He wasn't all that."

Sei suddenly interrupted, "Y – You battled Fellini!? When did this happen!?"

"A little bit before the tournament. Used a basic Gespenst to tear that… White Glint I think it was called, into a piece of scrap."

The two boys gaped in awe.

Alister blinked in confusion. "What? It was a high-speed unit. Those things have trouble stopping."

"Wow…" Mao mumbled.

"What? It wasn't that tough. A few smoke grenades, forcing him to run, and bam. He rams into a building."

China frowned in confusion. "Um… what are you all talking about?"

"A pathetic pilot."

"I – I see…"

* * *

Soon, the group returned to Sei's shop and Sei turned to Mao and explained, "Well… this is it, Iori Hobby Shop."

"Wow…" Mao awed as the group entered the store, Alister making his way to the back counter, where Rinko was, whilst the two boys focused on the models.

Rinko watched curiously as the two boys spoke. "Alister, is that boy Sei's friend?"

Alister shook his head in denial. "Nah. Self-proclaimed rival."

"I see." She then smiled pleasantly. "Well I'd say they're about to become friends."

"Maybe."

Rinko then turned her attention directly on Alister. "So, how are you liking your time in this city?"

"It's interesting." Turning his gaze to her, he added, "And there are certainly some interesting people here. You being one of them."

Rinko smirked playfully. "Oh?"

Alister responded with a smile, putting an arm around her waist. "Yep."

"My, my, so forward."

"Mmoomm!" Sei whined. "Stop being weird!"

Alister retorted, "She's an adult, kid, she can do what she wants. Got it?"

Sei pouted and turned his attention back to Mao, trying to ignore the two behind him.

Mao looked over the multiple models in the store's display case with amazement. "It does my heart good to see such well-built PTs. Did you build them all yourself?"

"Well, yeah."

"I see. It's just like my master said."

"What is?"

"I've loved BPT since I was little. To be honest, I thought I was pretty special. But my master… he said, the world is huge. And that even he, who master the PT Shingyo School, once feared someone. His name was Takeshi Iori. He said I need to go and meet you, his son. So that's why I came all the way from Kyoto."

Sei remained silent in shock whilst Alister merely yawned.

Rinko frowned in consternation. "Takeshi…"

Alister glanced at her curiously. "Your ex I assume?"

"More or less…" She then smiled weakly. "To think he was respected by such a great man." Her weak smile then widened to a bright grin. "Sei! Show him the talent you inherited from your papa!"

Sei's face instantly turned beet red. "M – Mom! Cut it out!"

"Come on! Do it!"

"There's no need," Mao added as he stood.

"Huh?"

"Looking at the Personal Troopers here, to be honest, I was disappointed."

Alister frowned incredulously. "Why?"

"What do you mean?" Sei wondered.

"I mean exactly what I just said," Mao answered. "The most important thing in the building process is imagination. All the PTs here lack that. You just build the products nicely."

"Imagination doesn't win battles," Alister argued bluntly.

"Besides, these are just samples," Sei argued.

Mao folded his arms curiously. "Then, can I see your real work? I also have one that reflects the results of all my training."

Sei tilted his head slightly in confusion but nodded in reply. "Um… sure."

China frowned in concern. "Are you two… going to play Burning PT?"

Alister interjected, "I'm the one who can actually pilot the damn thing, not Sei."

Mao smirked and chided, "There's no need to. A true builder can tell which model is better with one glance."

Alister folded his arms and snorted dismissively.

Sei tightened his fists and nodded resolutely. "Right… I'll go get it."

"Glad to see you won't back down from a challenge."

* * *

A few minutes later, the two boys sat crouched in the living room of Rinko's house, with China, Alister, and Rinko watching pensively before the duo pulled out their respective machines and put them on the floor in front of each other.

Alister looked at Mao's, an extremely angular machine with multiple solar panels and a large cannon. "… The fuck is that thing supposed to be?"

Mao grinned proudly. "The Gundam X Maoh! My custom unit. My best work!"

"Right…" Alister and the others stood silently as Mao and Sei sat across from one another, moving nary a muscle, their eye contact unbroken. "… They've been sitting there, doing nothing for five minutes…"

"Yep…" Rinko added with a sigh.

China frowned as she looked between the duo. "How long will this continue…?"

"How would I know?" Alister retorted.

"They're having a duel in their minds," Ral, standing next to the trio, commented.

Alister looked at the man in disbelief. "When the hell'd you get here?"

"Not important." Ral narrowed his eyes as he continued watching the two have a stare off before stepping close to them and swiping his hand between them. "Hya! This battle is too fantastic to finish in your imaginations. Let us move it to the BPT arena."

"Huh?" Sei stammered.

"I'm fairly certain our friend here, Mao, is in the Burning PT Tournament, correct?"

Mao grinned proudly and puffed his chest out. "That I am!"

"Ah," Alister remarked dismissively. "So I'll have to fight the squirt then."

Mao twitched an eyebrow at the man but decided to redirect his attention to Sei as he packed away the Gundam X Maoh. "Alright Sei, let's put this battle on hold."

"Really?" the boy asked in surprise.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm fairly certain I'm better at building PTs, but I'm interested to see what your machine's normal pilot can do."

Alister flattened his brow in annoyance. "Don't you watch the fights kid?"

Mao looked at him curiously and then shook his head. "Hm? No, I've been walking since before they started."

He gaped slightly in disbelief. "… You walked all the way from Kyoto?"

"Yep!"

"… That sounds like something I'd do."

Sei looked at the man in shock as Mao left. Looking at the other boy's shrinking form, Sei nodded to himself. "Okay, I know what I'm going to add to the Gespenst."

"Oh?"

Without another word, Sei rushed off to his room.

Alister folded his arms and then sighed heavily before turning to Rinko. "I'll walk China back to her place."

"Right," the blue-haired beauty answered with a nod.

Alister looked at the girl and motioned to the door.

China nodded and followed behind.

* * *

The duo walked in silence for quite some time before they finally began to near China's home.

As they walked, China glanced at Alister silently. "U – Um, thank you…"

Alister merely shrugged in response. "No problem kid. You know, he's never going to notice if you don't do something." He quickly changed the subject, causing the girl to stop in her tracks and turn red. "Or is that why you bought the model?" he posited, causing the redness on her face to bright severely. "Looks like I was right." Turning from her door with a smirk, he added, "Anyway, I'll see you later."

"R – Right…" she stammered as he left.

* * *

"What a day…" Alister sighed as he turned to Rinko's house before flopping onto the sofa.

Rinko noticed the heavy exhaustion in his breath. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just bored."

Rinko hummed in thought before heading to her fridge.

Alister sat up in slight surprise as she returned with two cold beers. "Huh. Didn't take you for a drinker."

Rinko laughed lightly and added, "Not regularly, but on occasion."

"I see. My girlfriend does too."

Rinko raised an eyebrow as she sat down and handed him one of the cans. "You've mentioned her a few times, but you haven't said what she's like."

Alister sat in thought as he lightly tapped the can against his head. "I guess I haven't. Well for one she's a fun person I suppose. Energetic. Top notch pilot and one hell of a shot."

"Oh? Sounds like the perfect person for you to fight with."

Alister nodded with a warm smile. "She is. I spend my time busting jaws on the battlefield, keeping all the enemies away from her, and she goes nearby and picks them off one-by-one to stop me from being overwhelmed. Our teamwork in the sims is pretty much unmatched. Throw in Kaguya and we are pretty much the perfect team."

"Kaguya?"

"The first member of that harem Excellen is making us, and a fellow military grad."

Rinko blinked in thought before smirking. "Oh?" she hummed as she pulled the tab on her drink.

"Yep," he answered simply before opening his own drink and taking a swig. "Huh. This is pretty good."

"Thanks."

After a moment of silence, Alister questioned, "So, what's the occasion for the drink?"

"How much you've helped Sei."

"Oh?" he returned before taking a drink.

Rinko nodded with a warm, loving smile. "He hasn't smiled this much in almost three years. I don't think anything in the world could make him happier than seeing the machine he put his soul into being used by such a skilled pilot."

"Ah."

She then turned her gaze towards him with her cheeks turning red with light inebriation. "So I thought the least I could do to pay you back was give you a drink."

Alister chuckled lightly in amusement. "And here I thought you wanted me drunk."

Rinko returned a playful smile. "Do you really think I'm that type of woman…?"

"No clue," he replied before putting a hand on her thigh firmly. "I certainly wouldn't mind finding out though."

Rinko grinned with excitement before leaning towards him, their lips pressing together as their tongues eagerly reached out towards each other.

Their appendages coiled and caressed around one another, a soft battle of dominance playing out between their mouths, with Alister proving the victor as he pushed onward and in to her mouth, exploring every crevice and spot of her soft cheeks with glee, gliding up under her tongue and gently caressing the roof of her mouth before pulling away.

Rinko gave him a heavily blushed smile as he did, a single strand of saliva connecting them for a moment. "Your time with those two has definitely paid off."

"You ain't seen nothing yet." He looped his arms under her knees and back, picking her up gently.

"My, my, you're certainly strong," she noted with a smile, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"Not at all, you're not very heavy." Alister quickly carried her to her bedroom at the back of the house and shut and locked the door before putting her on the bed with a firm drop.

"Well aren't you vigorous?" she teased with a smirk.

"Well I'd say the same about you," he retorted before his hands grasped her bulging bosom tightly. "Even with your bra on I can feel your nipples poking my hands."

"Y – You certainly… know how to use your hands…" she moaned out as he kneaded and rolled her orbs with his fingers.

"I'd like to think I was taught well." He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers before moving his hands down to between her soft thighs, placing his hand over top her mound. "Hehe, even through your jeans I can tell how wet you are," he teased before moving down to her nethers.

"What are you…?" she wondered before moaning loudly as he pressed his fingers into her entrance, digging her jeans and panties underneath.

Alister chuckled lightly. "I don't know if it's because of the alcohol or how you normally are, but you're certainly sensitive."

"D – Don't tease me like that…!" she begged as each motion of his fingers sent jolts of pleasure through her body.

"Hehe, you're much cuter like this." He quickly turned her on her front, her plump bottom sticking up in the air.

"H – Hey…"

Alister grabbed the top of her jeans and pulled swiftly, exposing her dark violet panties, a long stain of arousal darkening the fabric as drops of fluid eked out. Placing his face close, he drank in the scent of her arousal flowing from her pussy. "Such a nice smell." He pressed his tongue against her mound, gliding it up and down along the slit, feeling her body shiver with each motion before grinning and pinching her throbbing nub with his teeth.

Rinko clenched the sheets in her fists and grit her teeth as a loud shriek of ecstasy shot from her throat. "H – Hhyyaauu!"

"Now, now, not too loud, you might wake Sei."

Rinko shivered and bit her lip softly as he twirled her clitoris in his teeth. "Th – That's not… fair… I haven't had sex in so long… my body's so sensitive…"

Alister chuckled as he moved the fabric of her panties aside. "You really are wet," he remarked as he spread her lower lips, a light gush of arousal pouring out. "There's certainly a lot coming out. Perhaps I should get some out." With his other hand, he slid a finger into her quivering hole, awing as the soft orifice greedily sucked his digit in.

Rinko widened her eyes as Alister's finger sunk into her pussy, twirling and dancing around in the hole, stirring the flesh inside. "I – If you keep… keep like that… I won't… won't be able to keep my voice down…!"

"Hm… you have a point."

Rinko's body arched sharply as Alister added his index finger to his middle, both swirling and moving about inside her, stirring, pulling, and pinching the walls of her pussy. "I – It's been so long… since I've felt… anything like this… I think… I think I'm going to… to…!"

Alister smirked mischievously as he curled his fingers, pinching a rough portion of her inner walls as his thumb and pinky squeezed her clitoris.

"N – No…! My clitoris… and g-spot… at once…! I'm… I'm ccuummmmiinngg!" she called out loudly as her back arched and heat spread through her body. Her muscles trembled and shivered before she collapsed, breathing heavily. "You're… mean…" she panted out.

Alister chuckled lightly as he pulled his fingers out, both drenched in Rinko's fluids. "You say that, but it seems you liked it," he taunted as he put his nectar-covered fingers next to her mouth.

Without another prompt, Rinko reached out exhausted and began sucking on the man's fingers, licking and sucking her juices from his skin.

"There, all clean. Now, how about we move on to the main event?"

Rinko's exhausted face formed a smile as Alister pulled the tab on his trousers. However, her smile turned to shock as she saw his dick emerge. "I – It's huge…" she muttered in awe at the thick rod, easily greater than thirty centimeters in length, throbbing behind her.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"I – I never said that… I've just… never seen one that big…"

"Well, you could say my past brings me numerous unfair advantages." Putting his hands firmly on her round ass, he pulled her labia open with his thumbs, aiming his member directly at her pussy. "And… here… we… go!" he accentuated before plunging his hips forward, burying his cock all the way inside her.

"Hhyyaauu!" she shrieked out as she felt the end of his member instantly hit the entrance to her womb. "I – It's… so deep… I think… I'm going crazy…" As her shoulders slumped in fatigue, she got a glimpse of their connection, gaping as she realized his tool was only just over half way inside of her. ' _H – How can it be so long!?_ ' Her question was not given answer as Alister began moving, his rod plunging back and forth in her tunnel, each thrust hitting against her cervix.

As he continued thrusting forcefully into her tunnel, Alister slid his hands up her striped sweater and lifted it and the bra underneath off her breasts, allowing the wonderful masses to swing freely with each motion. "Mm… they're just as beautiful as I'd imagined they would," he complimented before gripping the fleshy orbs firmly, his fingers sinking into the soft warmth, pulling and kneading them with his hands. "Damn… I think these things are even bigger than Excellen's." With a jerk he pulled her up, sitting her straight as he pounded in from below, her breasts rolling and sloshing in his hands. "You have some wonderful breasts, Rinko," he whispered huskily in her ear.

Rinko gasped with a small squeal. "Th – Thank… you…" she gasped out, her breath hitching with each impact of his dick. Her eyes became foggy as her body was filled with the sensation of ecstasy, the shape of Alister's cock bulging in her skin above her mound as he thrust harder and hard, each plunge increasing the speed of his movements. However, just as she was reaching the peak of her elation, she was pulled from her own head by a knock at her door.

"Mom…" Sei groaned sleepily from the other side of the door. "What's all the noise for…?"

Rinko paled and put a hand on Alister's shoulder. "A – Al, stop," she begged in a whisper.

Alister merely replied with a grin. "You think I can stop now when we're this deep into it?" He accentuated his words by pinching her stiffened nipples, causing her to shiver with pleasure. "Come on, if you don't answer him, he might open the door. Do you really want your son to see you like this? Getting railed from behind by his partner?"

Rinko's eyes went wide before her expression softened, her face turned redder with each passing second.

"Mom?" Sei called through the door once more.

Rinko shook her head firmly and, in her best attempt to hide her moans, answered him. "M – Mommy's fine, S – Sei… I'm just doing a little – hau! A little stretching…!"

"Okay… goodnight…"

"Good – ahn – night…!"

After a few seconds she sighed in relief.

"Stretching, really?" Alister teased as he continued plunging his cock into her.

Rinko frowned weakly in retaliation. "M – My head isn't… working right… at the moment…" she answered shakily, her voice cracking as arousal shoots through her.

"Hehe, true. Well, then I should give you a reward for convincing him so well." Alister then pinched her erect nipples with his fingers and tugged on her giant globes as he shoved his tool deeply, partially opening the gateway to her womb.

Rinko grit her teeth and arched her back as the dual sensations shot through her body, giving her yet another climax, her pussy clenching around Alister's member.

Alister grunted deeply as her walls gripped him like a vice. "Crap… if you squeeze me like that…!"

Without warning, Alister's hose burst, gushing cum into the blue-haired beauty's uterus.

Rinko's eyes shot wide as she felt the hot liquid fill her body. Her expression of shock quickly melted to a face of elation. "It's been so long… since I've felt… this warmth… inside me…"

Alister chuckled lightly. "I'm quite surprised. For the prim and proper air you present, you're really a total slut, aren't you?"

Rinko's pink lips curled down with a frown, her face reddening. "D – Don't… call me that… I'm not… like that…"

"That's what you say," he paused as his reached down towards her pussy, "but your reaction down here says something completely different. Now, I've still got plenty of juice left, so why don't I give you the rest?"

"M – More?!" she asked in disbelief. However, her question again went unanswered as Alister resumed his thrusts, forcing into her vagina with a great speed and force. "N – No…! If you're that rough after I just came… I'll go crazy!"

"Oh? I haven't made you yet?" Pulling his staff almost to the point of leaving her hole, he thrust in with a powerful plunge, his dick forcing her cervix open and forcing its way into her womb.

Rinko's eyes went wide in shock as she felt him bury his full length inside her, stretching even her womb as his entire member filled her. "You're… stirring the cum… inside me…!"

Alister chuckled as his thrusts continued, the semen in her womb sloshing and stirring as he pounded into her. "I hope you've got plenty of energy, Rinko, I've got far more to give you."

* * *

 **And there you have it, the conclusion to the second chapter of The Endless War. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or simply had any questions on anything be sure to let me know and I will do what I can to address your concerns in the next reviewer response. If you did not enjoy the chapter, um... sorry? Post a review if you feel so inclined but do try to keep it civilized, or alternatively go and do something you actually enjoy instead. Anyway, I cannot think of anything else to say, so until the next chapter, bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

 **I am back with more! Hopefully you all enjoyed the previous chapter, a few of you did at least it seems. Which is always good. I hope you all, and even more, enjoy this one as well. Post a review if you do, thank you. Moving on, I would like to thank Bakuto Masaki for his continued help with this story. Right, reviewer responses away!**

 **InfinityAtmo: Consider it a narrative oversight. Sadly it happens from time to time. It's an honest mistake.**

 **mega float guest: Whoa, whoa, hold up! Bashing? I don't think I bashed Sei's father, if I did I swear it was _completely_ unintentional. I don't hate the guy. And what's wrong with the lemon? And yeah, Al's a jerk, but as things develop it'll be revealed more why. Plus he's not evil.**

 **Travis Moon: Sorry, I don't see that happening any time soon. I haven't played Tales of Berseria and due to my already huge backlog I don't see that changing in the near future. I may use Velvet in a couple stories because she's hot but I can't promise more than that. No idea who Eizen is, sorry.**

 **Well, that was a trip. On with the show!**

* * *

Sei yawned heavily as he walked into the kitchen and saw Alister preparing breakfast. "Huh…? Where's Mom?"

"Sleeping off a hangover," Alister answered as he jumped from pan to pan, cooking.

"She drank again…?" Sei asked in horror.

Alister stopped for a moment and looked at him curiously. "Again?"

"She doesn't drink much, but when she does she does really dumb things." Sei immediately paled in fear. "I – I hope she didn't do anything weird to you!"

"What do you mean?" He swiftly returned his attention to the food.

"The last time she got drunk she started singing for no reason and made me dance with her in front of everyone… It was horrible…"

"Nothing weird happened," he lied. Kind of.

Sei sighed deeply in relief. "Thank god…"

Alister glanced at the kid in thought. "… Anyway, breakfast is almost done."

"Good…" he muttered, collapsing onto the table.

* * *

After saying goodbye to the somewhat disabled Rinko, Alister and Sei left for the stadium, the duo sitting in the stands as more matches occurred.

Alister sighed as one match concluded swiftly. "Hm… Guess the next few matches won't be overly exciting. Meaning nothing but boredom…"

Nearby, Mihoshi looked at the two before walking up to him timidly. "I – Is that seat taken…?"

Alister glanced up with a smile and motioned to the chair. "Not at all, Mihoshi."

She sat hurriedly before remaining silent for several moments. "So, do you have any plans for today's match?"

"Fight and win. Why?"

"Um…" she stammered as she began fidgeting. "I just… well…"

"Something wrong, Mihoshi?"

She shivered at her name and began stammering.

Alister sighed before shrugging. "… Let's change the subject. Has your idol career moved forward at all?"

Her demeanor instantly switched to proud and confident. "The host of Burning PT, PPSE, has brought me on as their mascot."

Alister frowned slightly in thought. "I see. Do you want that?"

Mihoshi merely shrugged in response. "It gets me one step closer to my dream, so I'll deal with it."

"I see. Is becoming an idol that important to you?"

"Yes," she replied firmly.

"I see… So… what else you been doing?"

Mihoshi nodded with a smile. "I've been working on the Gerbera Tetra, myself this time."

"Huh. Good to know," he answered before smirking. "Once it's done, I'd love to see it and then test it out in a battle."

"Th – Thanks…"

Rinko walked up to the group, limping subtly, before sitting on Alister's side, wincing slightly as she sat down. "Hello, Mihoshi."

"You alright?" Mihoshi asked in concern.

Rinko laughed weakly. "Yes, just stayed up a little late."

"A little?" Alister teased with a smirk.

Mihoshi raised an eyebrow before her cheeks turned red. "… Did you…?" she wondered, causing Rinko's face to also turn bright red.

"Yes," he answered bluntly.

Mihoshi's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Wow… I'm pretty sure your partner isn't happy."

Alister chuckled confidently. "Nah, he's too young to know anything. Kid doesn't even know China loves him."

"Seriously…?"

"Yeah. Oh, speaking of, what happened to Miu? When I came back from the toilet she was gone."

"She had a sudden call from her manager, she didn't really explain."

* * *

Eventually, Sei and Alister's names came up on the board.

"Looks like we're up next," Sei remarked as the duo went down to the arena.

"'Bout damn time," Alister grumbled before seeing their opponent's machine, a large, heavily armored, green mech with huge shoulder pads and a large cannon.

"Th – That's a customized Physalis…"

Alister grinned as he walked up to the control panel. "Huh… Looks sturdy. Be fun to punch a hole through it. Now… time to hunt!" However, when Sei handed him the Gespenst, he looked at it in confusion, noting it now lacked a number of its weapons. "Huh? There's not as much firepower now… What gives?"

Sei nodded with a proud grin. "I streamlined the design. I removed the sabers on the right arm and replaced them with a charged energy spike, and removed the sabers on the left arm and made them into machine guns. I also added missile pods to the back for some longer-range power."

"I see." Alister looked over the machine once more before grinning and putting on the base. "I like it. This will be fun."

"BATTLE START" the computer announced before the competitors appeared in a virtual outer space environment filled with scraps of metal.

Alister immediately fired off his thrusters and shot forward, directly at the Physalis.

The Physalis raised its hefty cannon and fired a blast at Alister which he easily dashed to the side, avoiding, before bursting forward again. The Physalis attempted to aim once more but Alister got close instantly and fired a volley from the arm cannons, blasting holes through the cannon, causing it to explode violently.

"Now to end it!" Alister snarled as the large spike on the right arm began to glow bright orange before he shoved it forward, piercing the Physalis' chest, puncturing the core. "Looks like this one's over," Alister remarked before kicking the Physalis away, it exploding seconds later.

"BATTLE END"

Alister groaned as the virtual field dispersed, the Physalis' pilot frozen in shock. "How dull… Mihoshi was a better fighter… When will the fun fights start?"

Sei frowned slightly in response. "But with this, even if we face Yuuki-Senpai, then we can beat him."

Alister huffed as he handed the Gespenst to Sei. "If I tried my hardest, even with a basic machine I'd beat him. He's nothing more than a hobbyist, an enthusiast. A LARPer. He could never beat a real pilot. And this is just a custom model of a widely used Mass Production unit."

Sei pouted slightly in defeat. "It's not _just_ a custom unit…"

"Oh?"

"I upgraded everything, even the frame. I know how you fight, so I made it sturdier."

Alister raised an eyebrow as he looked at it. "I see. So you customized it. Guess nothing beats good old-fashioned iron."

Sei blinked in confusion as Alister began scratching his chin in thought.

"Hmm… actually, that has a nice ring to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Old Iron. Alt Eisen." He grinned before pointing at the model. "Right. I officially christen this Gespenst the Alt Eisen."

Sei laughed weakly. "Ah. I… guess that's okay."

"Oy, it's more than okay. It's perfect. So, we will name it that."

* * *

Later that day, back at the shop, Sei looked over a tablet as Alister plopped onto the sofa next to him. "What's up?" he asked before opening a soda.

"I've been looking over the tournament, and there's something odd."

"Oh?"

"It's one of the other competitors."

"Oh? Do tell," Alister remarked with a smirk before taking a swig.

"Fushigi Onna. Apparently, she uses a Gespenst with a sniper rifle."

Alister immediately spat his drink in shock, causing Sei to jerk back in shock.

"Uwah! Why'd you do that?!"

He slapped a hand over his face with a groan. "For fuck's sake… what is she thinking?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing, kid. Things will be interesting tomorrow, is all."

"Okay…?" Sei muttered in confusion.

* * *

Rinko tilted her head in confusion as she spoke with Alister. "Excellen?"

Alister nodded in reply. "Yep. Damn crazy girl would do something like this."

"Well I'd love to meet her."

"I'm sure the feeling's mutual. And it will happen," he added, causing Rinko to smile happily. "Though no clue where she is. Or when she got here. She could have called and said she was on leave."

"Right."

* * *

"Can you beat her?" Sei asked as he and Alister readied for the coming match.

Alister could only shrug. "Depends on the area really."

"I see…"

At that moment, the door on the other side of the stadium opened and a woman with long flowing, curly blonde hair, wearing a full-length cape along with a masquerade mask over her face, approached the arena.

Alister sighed heavily and a slapped a hand over his face in disbelief.

The blonde smirked playfully and whipped the cape off, revealing a full-body, skintight, latex suit that showed off every curve of her voluptuous form.

Sei gaped in shock, putting his hands over his eyes. "I – Is that legal…?"

"Who knows…" Alister grumbled.

The woman merely smirked.

Alister looked at the blonde in annoyance. "What are you trying, Excellen…? Wait, why am I even bothering trying to figure you out…"

The computer announced. "BATTLE START. FIELD NINE: CANYON."

Alister slumped in frustration. "Ah, fuck me…"

"Wh – What's wrong?" Sei asked in worry.

"Canyons are a sniper's Haven. I had better be real lucky or I'm screwed. Now… time to sneak…" As the virtual arena formed, Alister launched out and ducked into the canyon.

Excellen snickered as she launched in her Gespenst. "This is gonna be fun!" She looked down and saw Alister dashing through the canyon channels from above. "Now then… Hm… maybe I'll give him a slight head start." She then flew off in a different direction to find a perch.

Alister snarled as he saw Excellen flying above him. "Ah shit! Great… she knows where I am… and is playing with me… Lovely… just makes the fight all the harder. Need to think of a way to obscure which way I'm going. Hm?" As he stamped on the ground, sand kicked up in all directions. "That should work." He aimed his arm cannons at the ground and fired, creating a massive dust cloud.

* * *

China frowned in confusion. "Huh?"

"What's he doing?" Rinko wondered.

"I have no clue…"

"He's making it hard to see him," Mihoshi explained.

"Huh?" China responded.

"Look. He's kicking up clouds of dirt to make it hard to see."

"Wow…"

Rinko nodded in comprehension.

Excellen blinked in surprise. "Wow. I didn't think he'd do something so obvious. But I guess it's more amusing." She prepared to fire into the dust cloud but was hit by a huge boulder flung from the dust. "Wh – Whoa!"

Alister chuckled as he sped around.

Rinko gaped in shock. "He just threw a giant rock…"

"Well it worked, didn't it?" Mihoshi argued.

"Yeah," Rinko answered unsurely.

Excellen simply snickered.

"Uh-oh…" Alister commented in worry as he dashed around.

Excellen turned instantly and flew towards him.

"Fuck!" he cursed before aiming at the ground.

"Not this time!" She fired instantly at him, blasting a shot straight through the elbow joint.

"Ah hell, the arm!"

China gaped in shock. "H – How'd she manage that shot so fast at such a distance?!"

"I – I have no idea…" Mihoshi stuttered in disbelief.

Alister growled as the Alt Eisen's left arm went limp. "Tch… That's just peachy. Now I have to win one-handed. Now let's teach her not to be annoying." He swiftly charged at her.

Excellen fired a shot at him as he rushed at her, though he leaned to the side, dodging the shot, and then punched at her with the arm spike. Excellen dodged to the side, her gun arm getting blown to pieces. "Oh crap!"

Alister grinned confidently. "You always dodge left!"

Excellen pouts and grabbed her rifle with her left arm as it fell.

Alister charged at her and slapped her Gespenst in the face with his gimped arm. "Oh no you don't!"

"Hey!" Excellen shrieked.

"Nighty night," he warned as he put the spike at her Gespenst's chest.

Excellen pouted before smirking. "Look down."

"Not gonna fall for –" he retorted before Excellen fired at the cliff he was standing on, causing it to collapse. "Ah, hell!" he cursed, managing to grasp the leg of Excellen's Gespenst.

"Huh?!"

"I ain't going down alone!"

Excellen frowned before detaching the leg.

"Oh come on!" Alister growled as he was buried under the rubble.

"Phew." Excellen sighed in relief before looking down and noticing a live grenade stuck to her mech. "Oh, come o –!" she shouted before it exploded, destroying the cockpit, causing the Gespenst to crash and explode violently.

"… Wow…" Sei stammered in shock.

Alister forced the Alt Eisen, heavily battered, to stand from within the rubble, holding the Gespenst's detached leg.

Excellen pouted as the holographic displays vanished.

"BATTLE ENDED" the computer announced.

Alister sighed in relief as Sei grabbed the Alt. "Too close…"

Excellen pouted as she grabbed the remains of the Gespenst. "Aw… I almost won too… now the score is fifty to fifty-one…"

"Fifty-two."

Excellen raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? No. It's not."

"Did you forget last week when we competed on stamina?"

"That was a draw and you know it!"

Alister huffed in derision. "I _clearly_ won."

"Please! You were just as exhausted as I was!"

The audience remained in silent awe as they continued arguing.

Sei looked at the battered Alt Eisen in defeat.

Alister turned from Excellen to Sei. "Sorry 'bout that Sei."

"It's okay… but I'll need to make something else for you to use in the rest of the tournament."

"Great…"

Sei smiled into determination. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it's great!"

* * *

Alister looked at the new machine Sei customized, a white robot with blue accents, pointed shoulders, and a huge rifle. "… What…is this?"

"The Weissritter!" Sei declared proudly.

"Ooh!" Excellen, now clad in a tight red uniform with a loose white jacket, thigh-high boots, and garters, remarked from behind Alister, causing the brunette to jump.

"Gah! Stop that!" Alister shouted.

Sei looked at Excellen in confusion, not recognizing her. "Y – You're…?"

"I'm me!" she chirped, leaning down toward him.

Alister sighed and motioned to the blonde. "This is Excellen Browning, my girlfriend and the person I fought."

Sei gulped as he looked at the scantily clad woman. ' _… I – I don't know where to look…!_ '

Excellen snickered lightly in amusement.

Alister grabbed her shoulder and made her stand up straight, though causing her large bust to jiggle. "Stop teasing the brat. Besides, he's one of the dim types anyway."

"Oh fine," Excellen pouted.

Sei gulped in concern.

Excellen picked up the Weissritter in thought. "I like it. High speed and mobile sniper Weissy!"

The duo looked at her in disbelief.

Alister groaned. "Great… she's taken a liking to it…"

"She's weird…" Sei muttered, garnering a smack on the head from Alister. "Ow!"

"Only I am allowed to say that about her."

"Okay…"

* * *

Rinko put a hand on her chin as she looked over Excellen curiously. "S – So… you're Al's girlfriend?"

Excellen nodded in affirmation as she examined the blue-haired beauty. "One of them, yes. And you?"

"Rinko Iori."

"I see."

With a light tint to her cheeks, she added, "And I would classify myself as one of his lovers as well."

Excellen grinned from ear to ear and jumped joyfully. "Really? Awesome! We got a MILF!"

Alister groaned as the blonde bounced happily. "You still haven't told me what that means."

"Mother I'd Like to Fuck."

Alister's expression instantly went flat. "… Ah."

"Yep," the two answered in unison with matching smirks.

* * *

"God I'm bored…" Alister sighed.

"Think you can make the Weissritter work for the final round?" Sei asked.

Alister before shrugging. "I can try. My expertise is close to mid-range, but I do have some skill with ranged combat."

"Right."

Alister changed the subject. "So… who's the opponent?"

Nodding, Sei answered, "Mr. Kato, a regular tournament veteran."

"Hope he'll at least be entertaining."

Sei pulled up an image of a golden machine with huge solar panels on its back.

"I see. Match is tomorrow?"

"Yeah, it is."

Alister nodded in understanding as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Well I'm going to have to get used to the Weissritter one way or another. So might as well test it."

"Against… who?" Sei asked in confusion.

"Well…" he noted in thought before turning to Excellen. "You got any spares?"

Excellen responded by partially opening her vest and pulling a case from her cleavage that had a mech model inside.

Sei gaped in disbelief as Rinko exclaimed, "Oh! I never thought of that!"

Alister just sighed in exasperation.

* * *

Alister and Excellen prepared to use the small arena inside the shop, both setting up their machines, Alister groaning as he saw Excellen's snicker. "You ready to lose this time?"

"Oh please, I'll make sure I stay on top."

"Come now, having a girl on top can be fun at times too."

Alister just snorted before the computer announced, "BATTLE START. FIELD THREE: FOREST."

Alister took off from the starting perch in the Weissritter at immense speed, Excellen snickering lightly as he struggled to maneuver it. "Okay, light armor means built for high speed maneuverability, but not too good with sudden stops. So just gotta make sure I don't need to stop on a dime." He then fired a single shot from the model's rifle, the recoil almost causing him to flip over in the air. "Whoa!"

Excellen gasped and barely dodged the powerful shot.

"Sei! The kick on this thing is absurd! The hell kind of rifle is it?!"

Sei smirked confidently and explained. "It's a combo long-range rifle that fires a combination of beam and material rounds for maximum firepower and range. I made it so that it can accurately hit a target all the way on the opposite side of a standard sized PT battlefield."

Alister was genuinely impressed. "… Ever thought of designing Mobile Suits?"

"Huh?" Sei sputtered, not expecting the question.

"What? Whatever, we'll talk about it after I torch Excellen."

* * *

Excellen pouted over her second model, which was in pieces, with Alister's Weissritter implanted into a wall. "We need to power down the rifle…"

"H – Huh?" Sei stuttered.

"It has too much damn kickback."

Sei frowned and then scratched his head in thought. "Hm… what if I switch to firing one type of round at a time instead of both?"

"That'd be smart. Maybe add firing both rounds as a last-ditch move of some kind."

Excellen pouted as she picked up her trashed machine.

"Stop pouting."

"But…"

"No buts," he retorted firmly. "You get to pilot real ones all the time."

"Oh fine…"

Alister stiffened as her pout continued, Rinko chuckling at his deteriorating resistance. "How about after Sei fixes Alt I give you Weiss?"

The blonde's eyes lit up with excitement before she hugged him tightly. "Thank you!"

"Right, right," he remarked with a chuckle, patting her head gently.

* * *

"You ready?" Sei asked after they finished dinner.

Alister nodded. "Yep. Got every little detail figured out."

"Right. Tomorrow's the next match. If we win that one we'll be in the world tournament."

Alister nodded with approval. "Good. Think Ryusei will win his?"

"Maybe."

"Right. Well I'm going to get some rest. Night."

"Right."

* * *

The next morning, Alister woke up with his expression flat as he had Excellen draped over one arm and Rinko over the other. "Damn… I'm stuck…" After a moment of thought, he pinched both of their round asses, causing the two to moan slightly in response. "Good, you're awake. Now. Up."

"Fffiiinnneee…" Excellen groaned as Rinko pouted, the two sitting up.

Alister sighed in defeat. "Victory threesome when I win the Tournament."

The two practically had hearts in their eyes.

* * *

As the duo approached the stadium, Sei gulped nervously.

Noticing this, Alister questioned, "Something wrong?"

"N – No…" Sei stuttered unconvincingly.

"Oookkkaaayyy…?" After a moment of thought, Alister sighed and then patted the boy's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry kid, I ain't gonna lose. I beat what's-his-face with a normal Gespenst and you said he's a champ."

"Unfortunately, Mr. Kato often has tricks up his sleeves."

"And with that BFG I'll blow them to pieces."

"Right…"

As the two reached the arena, Alister saw Kato, an older man with chin-length brown hair, a blue cap, sunglasses, and a blue and white military costume.

Alister's jaw dropped in disappointment. "… That's the guy you're so scared of? I mean seriously… Him? I could kick his ass even without a suit. But where's the fun in that?" Alister then grinned with excitement. "So let's have some fun."

As the three prepared, the computer generated the arena. "BATTLE START. FIELD ONE: SPACE."

Kato grinned defiantly as he fired into the air. "This is the might of the Magician of Armies! Look well!" Suddenly, thirteen objects appeared from behind the simulated moon.

Alister dropped his jaw in utter disbelief as the thirteen new machines appeared around the man's robot. "Oh dear lord I'm fighting a moron." He then looked around him as the drone machines surrounded him. "Hm?"

Sei gasped in surprise. "Huh?! G-Bits!? Those are unmanned Mobile Suits!"

Kato's grin widened. "Fighting is about numbers!"

Alister merely yawned before the G-Bits charged at him.

"Even if the performance of each is low, I'll surround and destroy the enemy with sheer force of numbers."

Alister sighed and then fired a round from the beam barrel of the cannon, taking out three of the G-Bits with headshots.

Kato's glasses fell slightly in shock. "H – Huh?! A single machine can't possibly resist my army!"

"Your puppets are dull. Not even worth the time to properly hunt them. It's best to put them down like a sick dog."

Kato snarled at the insults. "Why you…! G-Bits! Destroy him!"

Alister shot down two more and soared high above Kato's machine.

"Damn!" he cursed as the solar panels on his machine opened wide, the remaining G-Bits pelting Alister with gunfire.

Alister easily dodged all of the shots and fired several solid rounds at Kato, which the man narrowly avoided as the two huge cannons on the back of his machine unfolded. Alister narrowed his eyes and fired a high-power round that went directly down the barrel of one of the cannons.

Kato's face went white. "… Crap." And with that his machine exploded, ending the match, the crowd roaring in response.

"And thus another win," Alister remarked with boredom.

"W – Wow…" Sei stammered.

"Guess that's that," Alister added as the holograms vanished.

"That was so fast…"

"Told ya. Idiot focused on quantity then quality after all." Alister's attention was drawn away as a woman in a formal suit approached the duo holding an envelope and a small trophy. "Hm?"

The woman smiled and handed the envelope to Alister. "We've come to present you, the champions, with the grand prize, the trophy, and the extra prize."

"Oh?" Alister opened the envelope, as Sei ogled the trophy, and saw that it contained four, all expenses paid tickets to a hot spring, resulting in a grin from him. "Nice."

* * *

Rinko and Excellen squealed with excitement as they saw the tickets.

"We get to go to a Hot Spring for free? Awesome!" Excellen exclaimed.

Rinko's reverie halted momentarily with consideration. "Wait… who do you plan on taking with you?"

Alister frowned slightly. "… I was kinda planning on you, Excellen, and Mihoshi…"

"Oh… but what about Sei?"

He didn't have an immediate answer for that one. "… He can stay over at China's."

Rinko instantly had hearts in her eyes. "That's perfect!"

"Cool. You hear that Sei?" he asked, Sei obliviously smiling at the trophy. "I think he's cool with it."

Excellen snickered. "I don't think he even heard you. Oh, how will we get there?"

"Uuhh… I'll ask Mihoshi."

* * *

Later, Mihoshi sat in her limousine with Alister, Excellen, and Rinko, the purplette frowning in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Alister asked in concern.

Mihoshi quietly answered, "When you said you wanted me to take you to a hot spring I thought it'd just be us…"

Excellen grinned with anticipation. "Oh? Hoping to rub up all over him in hot steamy water?"

Mihoshi's face instantly turned red before she turned away from the three and sputtered. "N – No… maybe…" she added quietly.

Excellen nodded in affirmation. "I approve."

Mihoshi turned to her in bewilderment. "… Heh?"

"I approve of you being with Al!" the blonde replied with excitement.

Mihoshi's confusion increased. "Um… I'm confused. How does that make sense?"

"Well I'm his first! So I get to choose who to approve to be Al's lovers!"

"As in… more than one?"

"Yep!"

"W – Wow…"

Alister just sighed in exasperation.

* * *

Soon the group reached the beach resort in question, seeing the city nearby, the sands extending a great distance in both directions, and the water at the edge.

"Oooohh…" the girls all cooed in unison.

"This looks great!" Rinko cheered.

Alister looked around in surprise as well. "This beach sure is huge."

"Yep!" Excellen chirped with excitement.

"We'll go and get ready," Rinko noted.

"Sure," Alister answered plainly as the girls walked away towards one of the changing rooms. He waited for several moments before the girls returned, Rinko wearing a nice, form-fitting white and blue bikini, Excellen wearing a skimpy, red and white striped bikini, and Mihoshi wearing a white and purple bikini with a small, pleated skirt. Alister whistled with mild awe as he looked over the trio. "Damn, you all look good."

Mihoshi's face turned red as Excellen and Rinko both smiled.

"Now let's go enjoy ourselves," Alister urged before hearing a ruckus nearby. "Hm?" Turning to the side, he saw a large group of men staring at Excellen and the others. He swiftly sent a venomous scowl at the onlookers, causing them to pale and look away. He groaned slightly before turning to the girls. "Come on. Let's enjoy the day."

"R – Right…" Mihoshi sputtered in surprise.

* * *

Rinko laid on a towel, soaking up the sun, whilst Alister spread lotion along Excellen's back, Mihoshi swimming vigorously nearby.

"Nice and relaxing…" Excellen sighed in relief.

Alister nodded in agreement. "Especially after I got those mongrels to go away."

Excellen snickered lightly. "You worried they'll steal us away?"

"Not in the least. I just don't like others eyeing up what's mine."

"Rawr," Excellen purred before a small moan slipped out as he pressed down on her lower back. "H – Hey now… you know that's my weak spot…"

"That I do," he sniggered. "Now we should get something to drink."

Mihoshi frowned slightly as she approached the group.

"What's wrong Mihoshi?" he asked as he noticed her concern.

"I'm underage…" she frowned.

"Oh. Hm… We'll get non-alcoholic then."

Excellen suddenly chimed in, "Oh, oh! Why don't we play some volleyball first?"

"Huh?" Alister hummed.

"We should play some volleyball! I haven't played it in a LONG time!"

"Sounds fun!" Rinko cheered.

"Oh! Me too!" Mihoshi added with excitement.

Rinko then frowned in concern. "Wait… but we need an even number of players…"

"I see," Alister noted.

"So… whose team will Al be on?"

"I'm playing?" Alister remarked in surprise.

Rinko nodded in reply. "Well we _do_ need four people."

"I see…"

"So, you guys sound like you need a fourth wheel," a new voice added.

Alister looked up from where he sat and saw a woman much like Excellen, with long, golden blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, wearing a tight white one-piece swimsuit that barely held her bulging bosom, causing his jaw to drop.

Excellen gaped in surprise. "Huh? Oh, hey Mizuki! Long time no see cuz!"

"You know this boo – person?"

Excellen nodded with a bright grin. "Yep! She's my cousin! I haven't seen her in a while though."

The new blonde smirked and winked to Alister, causing her bosom to sway alluringly. "Name's Mizuki Tachibana."

Alister grinned in excitement. "Alister Manase. Excellen's lover."

Mizuki's jaw dropped slightly. "Wow… so you actually found someone who meets your standards?"

Excellen pouted in frustration. "Don't talk like I'm some prude."

"But it seemed like you'd never find a guy you'd like."

Excellen puffed her cheeks at her insistence.

Rinko's eyes widened. "Wow, really?"

"Oh, big time," Mizuki snickered.

Alister added, "She was a bit… uptight when I first met her."

Excellen pouted deeper. "Hhheeeyyy… I'm right here you know…"

"I know," he snickered, causing her to pout more and Rinko to giggle, before he turned to Mizuki. "So, Beautiful, what brings you here?"

"Just happenstance," she shrugged.

"Ah…" he muttered suspiciously.

"Something wrong?"

"… No," he answered, deciding to keep quiet.

"Okay?"

* * *

Alister sat silently as the girls played volleyball over a net, running, jumping, and hitting the ball, Alister enthralled as their assets bounced around as well. "Now this is a beautiful view…"

Excellen noticed his gaze and grinned, fumbling the ball intentionally before diving for it, grabbing Mizuki's top and yanking it down as she did.

Alister sat stoically as blood dripped from his nose. "Damn that is a big pair…"

"E – Excellen!" Mizuki shouted.

Excellen could barely contain her laughter at her fellow blonde's expression. "Wh – Whoops!"

Mizuki frowned and pulled her top up.

"Told ya I've changed."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Excellen simply grinned as Alister sat with tissues in his nose. "Your cousin has a very nice set."

Excellen nodded with a grin. "Yep! Maybe we can play with 'em tonight."

Alister shrugged in response. "If she wants in," causing Mizuki to stiffen with a blush.

Mihoshi frowned in annoyance. "Hey! Are you guys just gonna keep flirting or are we going to play?"

"Why? Wanna be included?" Excellen teased, causing Mihoshi to turn vibrantly red.

"I think her blush means yes," Alister teased.

Mihoshi sighed heavily. "… Let's just finish playing…"

Alister chuckled as the girls continued.

* * *

As the sun began to fall, the four girls stood panting and exhausted.

Mizuki stretched before smirking at Alister. "Nice meetin' ya, stud. Unfortunately, I've got to get going."

Alister frowned slightly. "Not going to stick around?"

"Nah. I was only passing by." Winking to Excellen, she added, "I'll be seeing you around, cuz'."

Excellen nodded with a wave as she left.

"Well your cousin is certainly a bit of a social whirlwind."

Excellen laughed weakly. "Yeah… she's always been like that."

"Right…"

* * *

Shortly later, the four stood, confused, in front of a small inn that was in rather dilapidated condition.

"Okay… so this should be the location of the inn we'll be staying at," Alister commented in slight concern.

"I think it's nice," Excellen added.

"Very old-fashioned," Mihoshi commented.

Rinko nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"Welcome," greeted a soft voice as a young woman with long, grey-blue hair tied up in a neat bun greeted, wearing a tradition kimono that did not betray her figure walked out and bowed gracefully to the group.

Alister blinked in surprise. "Cute…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Okay? My name is Misaki, I run this inn with my mother. How many rooms would you like? Two? Three?"

"One," Alister answered simply.

"H – Huh?" Misaki sputtered in surprise.

"Is something the matter?" Rinko asked curiously.

"Just… one room for all of you?"

"Is that a problem?"

"N – No…" she stuttered slightly as she started turning red.

"Good to hear."

* * *

Alister sighed as he flopped onto one of the beds, Rinko looking out the balcony at the rolling hills of trees nearby. "Wow! What a view!"

"Glad to see you're enjoying it," Alister chuckled.

Mihoshi looked around curiously before frowning. "This inn's rather shabby but the service and the view are incredible."

"It's not that bad."

Mihoshi frowned before looking at several shrines that were broken down completely, graffiti all over the fence and walls.

"Something wrong?"

"It's… a bit of a mess…"

"I see…" he noted as he looked around as well before he noticed Misaki run up to the front gate as a car drove up, an older woman jumping out of it frantically. He frowned incredulously and went downstairs to investigate.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Misaki asked with fear.

"Misaki, you need to take the guests and get out of here now," her mother urged desperately.

Misaki's face went white with terror. "Th – They're back…?"

"Just hurry!"

"Something wrong?" Alister interjected as he approached them.

Misaki stiffened before turning to him with an unconvincing smile. "I – It's nothing… we just need to move you to a different inn momentarily."

Alister was about to answer when a huge van suddenly came barreling towards the inn, causing him to dive and grab the two women, moving them out of the way as it smashed through the front door. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he walked over, several men in suits getting out including one man who stood almost two meters tall with a stocky body. "Who the hell are you morons?" Alister snarled.

Excellen and the others ran over to the noise, the blonde gasping in shock. "What the heck?!"

Ignoring him, one of the lanky men sniggered to the large man. "You gotta be careful with your driving, Tatsuzo."

"Hey, I'm talking to you," Alister growled as he walked up to the huge man.

"Shut up, kid," Tatsuzo snarled.

Alister gained an angry glare in his eyes. "Did you just call me kid?"

Tatsuzo then turned to Misaki's mother with a cruel smirk. "Sorry, landlady, guess the brakes were faulty. But I'd say you can't keep this inn open in this condition. So, how about now you give us the rights to this dump?"

Rinko narrowed her eyes with disgust. "They're just typical land sharks."

Alister tightly grabbed the man's arm with a scowl. "How about you leave her alone, a nice chunk of money to pay for the damages you caused, and move your chump squad and ratty van out of here."

"We'd never sell the inn to people like you!" Misaki's mother shouted.

Tatsuzo snarled at Alister angrily. "Did you forget I told you to shut up, kid!?"

Alister's eyes narrowed dangerously as his eyes began to glow soft green. "I'm not a kid, fatass. And if you don't stop now, you and your flunkies will be nothing but broken and bloody bodies."

Misaki shivered in fear. "Wait! Manase, you can't! You'll get hurt!"

Excellen put a hand on her shoulder with a smirk and a wink. "Just let him handle it."

Alister squeezed Tatsuzo's arm with greater force as he threatened, "Now, you, your flunkies, and your van, leave. And pay to repair the inn."

Tatsuzo winced before pushing Alister away with a growl. "And if I don't?"

Cracking his knuckles and flexing his shoulders, Alister retorted, "You'll be rat food. So either do what I suggested or I'll have to do something about you and your goons."

"Yeah right!" the huge man hollered as he swung a fist at Alister, who easily caught and blocked the strike, the man's momentum stopping in a moment.

"So be it," Alister retorted coldly.

Excellen grinned with excitement. "Now comes the fun part."

"H – Huh?" Mihoshi sputtered.

Alister then suddenly twisted Tatsuzo's arm fast enough that it dislocated before kicking him in the abdomen, sending the giant tumbling to the ground.

"Why you…!" one of the man growled before pulling out a knife, only for Alister to grab his arm as he charged and forced it up, causing the man to stab himself in the head, dead, before ripping the knife out of his head and chucking it at the second man, landing a clean strike on his forehead, killing him.

As Tatsuzo attempted to stand, Alister kicked his feet out from under him, causing him to land on his back, stomped on his chest, and then turned his foot with force, the large man's face curling in agony before he collapsed.

"Next," Alister intoned before turning to the last of the men, who immediately dropped the gun he held.

"To be honest, I hate working for these guys. They're so weird."

"Good. Then leave."

Without another word, the man fled at high speed.

Misaki looked at the results of the short fight in awe. "W – Wow…"

Alister sighed and rubbed his eyes in discomfort as the glow vanished from them before looking around at the rubble. "Now… better clean this mess."

"How did you do that?" Misaki asked in disbelief, uncertain about approaching him.

"Hm? Do what?" Alister asked offhandedly as he picked up some of the rubble from the house and put it in the truck's bed.

"You beat them up like it was nothing…"

"Ah. That. I'm a raised and trained soldier. They're just fools with huge egos."

"W – Wow…"

"Excellen is too," he added as he tossed one of the bodies in the truck. "Well, a trained soldier that is. She wasn't raised as one."

"I – I didn't realize there were actual members of the military among the Burning PT's competitors."

"I see. Excellen, help me put the fatass in the bed."

"Righty!" Excellen chirped, helping him lift the man.

Misaki immediately bowed deeply to the two.

"Huh?" Alister wondered.

"I can't thank you enough."

Alister raised an eyebrow before shrugging and waving a hand dismissively. "Ah, that's okay. Those guys where threatening you."

Suddenly, Misaki's mother gained bright sparkles in her eyes.

Rinko noticed this and sniggered quietly. "I know that look…"

"You know, Misaki's actually still single," her mother stated clearly.

Misaki's face instantly turned a vibrant shade of red. "M – Mother!"

Excellen smiled brightly. "Great to hear!"

Misaki remained silent with her face glowing red, Rinko giggling lightly. "I knew it."

Mihoshi pouted in frustration. "I've already got so much competition… Now this…"

Excellen then looked around them. "What should we do with the trash?"

"Call the brass, this kind crap's what they do."

"Okie dokie!"

* * *

Later that night, Alister sat in a room alone and sighed as he looked out of the balcony. "What a day…"

His attention was diverted from the moon outside as he heard a knock at the door.

"Huh? It's open."

Misaki walked into the room carrying a tray of sake and two cups, her face red as she slowly moved towards him.

"Ah, hey Misaki-Chan. How are you doing?"

She stiffened and jumped slightly. "J – Just bringing some food service…"

"Ah, cool. Anything else, beautiful?" he asked before noticing her red face and trembling hands as she approached towards him. "You okay?"

She went stiff again and squeaked lightly. "Eep! N – Nothing!"

"Right…"

After a moment of silence, she spoke once more. "U – Um…"

"Yes?"

Before Misaki could respond, Excellen barged into the room carrying a now empty bottle of sake, her face red with inebriation.

"Oh great…"

"Let's… hic… celebrate!" she exclaimed as she stumbled drunkenly toward him.

"Celebrate what?" he challenged, causing her to stop and attempt to think.

"Celebrate… um… I forget… Hic…"

Alister sighed as he stood up. "Go to bed and sleep off the drunkenness."

She simply stood still, wobbling side to side blankly.

"You alright…?" he asked before noticing she was fast asleep, still standing up. He sighed heavily as he picked her up in his arms. "How my girlfriend does that is still a mystery…" Setting her down, he noticed a frown of disappointment on Misaki's lips. "If you're worried about my relationship status don't be." Without another word, he reached a hand into Excellen's deep cleavage before pulling out a small notebook.

Misaki blinked in confusion before he showed her the title.

"And this is why."

Misaki's expression went completely blank in shock. "E – Exe and… Al's… Huge Harem Plan…?"

Alister nodded with a sigh before putting the book back in its home. "It's her idea. And she dragged Kaguya into it."

"I – I see…"

"Yeah. No idea why she did in the first place though. It's just weird."

Misaki remained silent for several moments before gulping deeply as she steeled herself.

"Misaki?"

"… C – Can I…?"

"Join?" he asked, causing her to tense before nodding slowly. "Sure, if you're sure you want to." He noticed her gulp once more with trepidation and then looked behind him and saw her mother peering through the doorway and sighed. "Why don't we discuss this elsewhere?"

"O – Okay…"

* * *

After a series of twists and turns, Alister looked around the area of the inn they were at and sighed. "Okay, I don't think she followed us."

Misaki sighed deeply in embarrassed relief. "S – Sorry to push like that…"

Alister waved a hand dismissively. "I'm sorry your mother is so pushy. Must be hard on you."

Misaki laughed weakly in response. "Mother really wants me to find a well-to-do man to marry so I don't need to live in poverty for the rest of my life."

"Ah…"

"Sorry… I know it's a pain…"

"Ah, it's alr –" he began before she cut him off.

"So… just forget I mentioned anything about it, okay?"

Alister sighed before shrugged. "If you want me to. If you really do want to join in on all that, I would welcome it. You're a beautiful woman. But I wouldn't agree to it if you're only doing it because your mother's pressuring you to."

"I – I see…"

"So that leaves the question. Do you want to?"

"I… don't know…"

"I see. Well I won't push you, and don't let your mother push you either."

Misaki sighed in frustration. "Easy for you to say…"

"Okay…?"

"You don't have my mother breathing down your neck to get married to someone who can fix this place up…"

Alister frowned in response as his thoughts stirred.

Misaki smiled weakly. "Don't worry, I won't pester you about it."

Alister remained silent as she turned to leave and put a hand on her shoulder.

"H – Huh?"

"You aren't pestering me."

She did not answer for a moment in silence. "… You're sure…?"

"Yes. And this place isn't in bad shape at all."

That caused her to turn to him in shock. "R – Really?"

Alister nodded with an assured smile. "Yeah. I'm not going to blow smoke up your skirt and say it's five-star hotel quality, but it's a nice place, and the staff are excellent. Even you."

Her face turned red in response.

The two stood quietly on the deck as the moon hung high.

* * *

"Urgh… my head's killing me…" Rinko groaned as she woke in the morning.

"You drank with Excellen," Alister explained offhanded as he looked through a magazine, Excellen waking with a pleasant yawn.

"Ah… And how come YOU'RE not hungover?"

"I ask myself that every time she drags me drinking."

After yawning several more times to finish waking herself up, Excellen sat, quietly staring at Rinko's breasts. "Hm…"

"Something wrong?" Alister asked, somewhat disinterested, but concerned.

"Rin-Rin's a mom, right? If she gets drunk does her milk taste like booze?"

Alister raised an eyebrow in response. "Good question."

Mihoshi simply stared in dumbstruck awe.

"Wanna help Mihoshi?" Alister asked simply, causing Mihoshi to spit her drink in shock.

"I think that's a yes," Excellen teased.

"NOT!" Mihoshi howled.

"Really?" Alister retorted.

Mihoshi groaned heavily before slamming her head on the table. "Perverts…"

Alister laughed lightly in amusement, patting her back softly. "So much fun."

"You're a jerk…"

"And you're a beautiful woman."

The woman sighed before sitting up and leaving the room.

After a short pause, Alister turned his attention to Excellen. "So, there's one month until the big tournament. And you need to get back to your unit soon."

"Aw…" the busty blonde pouted.

"Don't. You know you need to get back."

"Fine…"

"Good."

"Guess he's all mine for the time being then," Rinko taunted, causing the blonde's pout to increase.

"Yep…"

"Don't worry, Excellen, I'll keep him in line," Mihoshi declared as she walked back into the room with a cold drink.

"Huh?" the blonde wondered in shock.

Rinko huffed dismissively. "As if you could."

"Eh?"

As the three bickered, Alister merely sighed.

Noticing this, Mihoshi turned her attention to him. "Al?"

"Hm?" he hummed quietly as she sat next to him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just bored."

"Ah…"

"Know anything we can do to stop me from being bored?" He blinked in confusion as her face began flushing. "What?"

"N – N – Nothing!" she sputtered loudly.

"Oookkkaaayyy?"

Misaki, walking past the room with a set of towels in her arms, interjected, "If you're really that bored, we have a Burning PT stage."

"Oh?"

"Well, you're a competitor in it, right? Then you should enjoy it, I'd think. The other competitors have."

Alister gained a smirk before his shoulders slumped. "I… forgot to bring the Weiss with me and Sei's working on the Alt."

"… Ah."

However, his attention quickly returned to her. "Wait, other competitors?"

Misaki nodded in affirmation, mildly confused at the question. "Yes. The winners of each Japanese block of the tournament are coming here. So far you're the third group."

"Oh? And the others are?"

"Well so far the only one who's come by was the Kanto Block winner, Mao Yasaka."

"Ah," he answered in mild disappointment.

"Once you leave the next block winners will be showing up."

"I see. Interesting. I'd like to meet them."

That surprised the girl. "Really?"

"Yep. To see what kind of competition I'll have."

"Well, PPSE only paid for your first two days."

"Damn… that sucks. Oh well." He looked curiously at the woman as she suddenly began fidgeting nervously. "Something wrong?"

Misaki tensed and shook her head firmly. "N – No, it's nothing…"

Alister smiled and waved a hand. "If you have something to say, say it. The worst I can do is disagree."

"Right. Well… i – if you want… you can stay for free if you help out around here."

Alister raised an eyebrow before nodding with a smile. "Sure."

Misaki sighed in relief.

Rinko and Mihoshi pouted in disappointment. "What about me?" they asked in unison.

Pointing to Rinko, Alister chided, "You have your son and your shop to return to. You'll be fine." Then to Mihoshi. "And I'm pretty sure what's-it-called wants you back to do more promotions."

The two frowned heavily.

* * *

The three women packed up and left the next day, Alister immediately getting to work around the inn, starting with the wall the land sharks had crashed through.

Misaki walked down the hall, preparing for that day's guests, when she noticed the door and gate patched back together, rather haphazardly but securely. "Whoa! You fixed up the wall so fast…"

"Glad you like it," Alister answered, slightly slurred as he held nails with his teeth.

Misaki laughed slightly at the sight. "If you keep working this fast we won't have anything left for you to do."

Spitting the nails out dramatically, he answered, "I could always do cooking or help move luggage."

That surprised her. "A – Are you sure…?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Thank you…"

Alister waved her gratitude off softly. "Sure. You don't need to keep thanking me so much. It's not like I'm not getting something out of this."

"Huh?"

"I'm getting to see my competition and get some intel."

"A – Ah…"

* * *

Later that day, after working on more repairs around the inn, Alister stood in the kitchen over the stove with several pans, and a large pot of stew. "Nice and relaxing…" he sighed happily.

"Need any help?" Misaki questioned as she walked in, putting some dishes in the sink.

Alister shook his head in denial, never taking his attention off the food. "Nah I'm ok. Cooking is one of the few non-combat things I enjoy."

Misaki nodded in reply. "Ah. Okay, then I'll go set the table for the guests."

Alister responded with a nod. "Sure. More winners here?"

"Yeah. The winners of the Kinki District."

"I see," he answered before a familiar voice shouted loudly.

"Whoa! That smells good!"

Alister turned in surprise as Ryuusei stumbled into the kitchen, drooling. "Huh? Ryuusei?"

The teen looked at Alister in shock. "Al!?"

"Looks like you managed to luck out huh?"

Ryuusei huffed with a confident smirk. "It's skill, not luck."

"Your first opponent would have wrecked you if not for the fact he was forced to leave."

Ryuusei recoiled in pain.

"Yeah. So luck."

"Tch…"

"So, bring any friends?"

Before Ryuusei could answer, Kusuha rushed into the room, mildly exhausted. "R – Ryuusei! Don't just run off when we still need to bring the bags in!"

Alister sighed at the teen. "Ah Kusuha. Let me help you with that." As he stepped away and took off the bright violet apron he wore, Misaki took over the cooking.

Kusuha looked at him in gratitude. "Th – Thanks, Alister…"

"No problem, beautiful."

That caused the blue-haired girl's face to turn bright red. "B – Beautiful!?"

"What?" he muttered in bewilderment.

The girl could only sputter. "I – I – I'm not…!"

"Not what?" he asked before she turned and fled.

"N – Nothing!"

Misaki sighed at him. "You really don't seem to know how to operate around different types of women."

Alister shrugged plainly. "I blame my first."

"Well if you want to add some more names to that booklet you should learn to handle more delicate women."

"Right… you're not the first to say that…"

"Then why haven't you learned it?"

Again, he shrugged. "Haven't needed to. Was more interested in testing new mechs and getting assigned to the same unit my girls are in."

Misaki looked at him in utter disbelief, Kusuha even returning to the room with the same expression.

He looked between them in bewilderment. "What?"

"He's the same as Sei…" Kusuha sighed.

Alister frowned in mild insult. "What? I'm a fighter. It's the only thing I truly know aside from my name."

"Huh?" Misaki sputtered in confusion.

"What?"

"You said it's all you know besides your name. What's that mean?"

"Exactly that."

"I see…"

Ryuusei sighed as he looked between Kusuha and Misaki in thought.

"Something wrong kid?" Alister questioned.

"N – No…"

"I see…"

"Well… about Ms. Iori… I – Is it normal for them to be that big…?"

Alister raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that normal?"

"No!" Ryuusei hollered.

"You sure? They seem normal to me. Mizuki, Excellen, Kaguya, and some others are like that too."

"You're just stupidly lucky," Ryuusei merely grumbled.

"Huh?" Alister grumbled before Misaki smacked Ryuusei behind the head with a tray she was carrying, by "accident".

"Ow!"

"Sorry! Al, can you help me with something?" Misaki said hurriedly.

"Sure."

* * *

Alister frowned in disbelief as he stood near the back of the property, looking at a huge hole in the floor. "Geez… where'd this hole in the floor come from?"

"Well…" she muttered, her expression going blank for a split second, "It was from those gangsters again."

Alister frowned in slight suspicion. "How the hell'd they do this?"

"A very long story…"

"I see… So you want me to fix it I presume?"

"Yes," she answered with unusual succinctness.

"Hm… I can handle this. I'll get started right away."

* * *

 **And done! That brings a close to the third chapter. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it, so be sure to leave a review letting me know if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or had questions on anything do let me know with a review and I will do what I can to address them. Though, if the question revolves around future story developments I'll have to warn that I can only do so much on that front within reviewer responses, so you would have better luck with a PM in that case. If you did not enjoy the chapter, that is fine, though I would appreciate knowing _why_. Also, if you notice any mistakes, my apologies, they happen. But, with that said, until next time, bye-bye!**


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